S  OK  ^.P  S 


FROM    THK 


PRISON  TABLE 


AT 


Camp  Chase  and  Johnson  s  Island. 


JOE    BARBIERE, 

LIEUT.    POL.    LATE    C.    S.     A 


DOYLESTOWN,  PA.  : 
W.    W.    II.    DAVIS,   PRINTER 

1868. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  yeai  1858, 

By  JOE  BARBIERE, 

In  the  Clerk's  Oflice  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  in  and  for  tho 
Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 


MRS.  F.  M.  PARKER,  OF  NEWPORT,  KY., 
THIS  VOLUME  IS  RESPECTFULLY  INSCRIBED, 

AS  A  TRIBUTE  OF  RESPECT  TO  A  LADY, 

WHOSE  KINDNESS  TO  THE  AUTHOR  WHILE  A  PRISONER 
OF  WAR 

IS  YET  FRESH  IN  HIS  MEMORY, 

THUS  ADDING  ANOTHER  LINK  TO  THE  CHAIN  OF  CHARITIES 
THAT  UNITES  THIS  NOBLE  WOMAN'S  HEART 

TO  THE  ESSENCE  OF  ALL  GOOD. 


4 3 93 7 G 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Pi. AX  OF  JOHNSON'S  ISLAND Frontispiece. 

THE  WOOD  PILE 110 

ARRIVAL  OF  THE  MILKMAN 155 

ARRIVAL  OF  PRISONERS 162 

MURDER  OF  LIEUT.   GIBSON 198 

P>UOVVNLOW  AT  CAMP  CHASE 221 

WHIPPING  NUGROES  IN  ILLINOIS 272 

'HANGING  UP  A  PRISONER  BY  THE  THUMBS.  .  28<S 

f    •     «    «     *  '       «  c 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Complete  Synopsis  of  the  Encroachments  of  the  Radical  Party,  arid 
their  War  on  the  Constitution. 

CHAPTER  II. 

How  I  got  into  the  Army — Generals  Polk,  Carroll  and  Pillow — Inci 
dents  at  Fort  Pillow,  New  Madrid  and  Island  Ten— Complete 
Lists  of  Confederate  Batteries  and  their  Officers. 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  Author  proves  himself  somebody  to  his  own  satisfaction — Our 
Custodians,  Maj.  Pierson  and  others — Col.  Battel  and  the  Yankee 
Parson — Ely  and  his  Book — Col.  Moody  of  Camp  Chase — An 
aged  Mother  and  her  Son — Our  Bathing  Facilities — The  power  of 
Forces  and  Political  Personalities — Clemens,  of  Tennessee  ;  Har 
ris,  of  Maryland ;  Crittenden,  of  Kentucky ;  Horace  L.  Day,  of 
New  York,  and  others. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Why  are  we  Prisoners  ?— The  Muggins  Club— Missouri  and  her  Sol 
diers—Distinctions  of  Race  and  Society — Death  of  Gen.  Murray — 
Yankee  Negro  Philanthropy — Sham  Fight  on  the  Campus— Our 
Prison  Mess  and  Club — The  Loungers'  Headquarters — The  Hash 
Question — Our  Ministers  in  Prison — The  Crowd  upon  the  Campus 
—A  Prisoner  Shot— Our  Physical  Thermometer— Routine  of  Pri 
son  Life— Shiloh  Prisoners. 

CHAPTER  V. 

Excursion  a  la  Africanne— Funeral  in  Prison— The  Dead  Line— Petty 
Malice — Regulations  of  the  Prison — London  and  Philosophy — In 
cidents  of  Balaklava,  by  a  Prisoner— Deaths  in  Prison— Poetiy  of 
the  Prison— The  \Vreck—  The  Roll-caller  of  our  Mess— St.  Clair 
Morgan,  of  Tennessee — Commercial  Interests  of  the  Prison — Gen. 
Jeff  Thompson — Grape-vine  Line — Good  News— Man  a  Creature 
of  Habit— Jack  Handy— Our  Post  and  Confederate  Surgeons- 
Promenade  Reflections— New  Arrival— Arrival  of  the  Milk-man. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

An  Incident  concerning  the  Commercial  Interests  of  the  South — Our 
Zouave  Corps— Military  Log-rolling  and  Political  Incidents- 
Vanity  of  the  Author— Hons.  James  C.  Jones,  Stephen  A.  Dcvuglas 
and  others — What  I  saw  and  learned  in  Prison. 


VI. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

The  "Lone  Star"  State — Turchin  in  Alabama  out-Heroding  Butler  in 
Louisiana — Wm.  G.  Brownlow  the  Barnum  of  the  South — Grape 
vine  Line— Active — The  Fourth  Estate  in  Prison — How  we  ob 
tained  Stimulants— Great  Excitement  in  Prison,  rurnois  of  Con 
federate  Victories — The  Munificence  of  our  Custodians — Our 
Laundry— Human  Nature  ia  Bread-chuncks — Edwin  M.  Stanton 
— Arrival  of  Civilians— Murder  of  a  Prisoner— Big  Gate — They 
stole  my  Whiskey — Joke  on  our  Custodians — Picnicians  on  the 
Rampage. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Naval  Engagement  at  Memphis,  List  of  Officers  and  Boats — Log  of  the 
Gunboat  Price — The  Women  of  Louisville,  Mrs.  Harry  J.  Spotts, 
Mrs.  David  Looney— Andrew  Johnson,  Military  Governor  of  Ten 
nessee — Capt.  J.  M.  Winstead — Camp  Chase,  Ohio — Incidents  at 
Camp  Chase — Situation  of  Camp  Chase— Mrs.  Judge  Clark,  of 
Ohio -Dr.  Cliff,  of  Tennessee— Mrs.  Harry  Hedden,  of  Kentucky. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

New  Acquaintance — Capts.  Lowe,  Bowers  and  O'Neil — Faith  and 
Destin}' — The  Raftsmen  of  Johnson's  Island — Capt.  Hayden — 
Fourth  of  July  in  Prison — Misconceptions  of  Character — Colonels 
Smith  of  Arkansas,  and  Clark  of  the  Sixth  Tennessee ;  Captain 
Blake,  of  Kentucky — A  Challenge  passes  in  Prison— A  Quiet  Man 
on  the  Code — Lieut.  d'Aubigne — Mrs.  Colonel  Bryan — Ice  Cream 
Saloon  in  Prison — A  Squad  of  Paroled  Prisoners — The  Four  Trai 
tors  who  took  the  Oath. 

CHAPTER  X. 

Attempt  to  Escape — Simplicity  of  a  Prisoner— Nervousness  in  Prison 
—Lieut.  Rankin  and  his  Cat— Mrs.  Battel— A  Single  Arrival—The 
Abolition  Deity,  Abraham  Lincoln — Not  an  Englishman  in  Prison 
—Memphis  gone  up — Military  Distinction— Petty  Thieving— 
Firing  by  Platoons — Arrest  of  Civilians — Winding  up  of  "Scraps'" 
-Trip  to  Dixie. 


APPENDIX. 


Rebel  Prisoners  at  Elmira — Treatment  of  Jefferson  Davis — The  Mur 
dered  Wirz- -Treatment  of  Federal  Prisoners  and  Rebel  Witnes 
ses — Letter  of  Louis  Schade,  Esq. — Formation  of  the  Southern 
Confederate  and  State  Governments — Organization  of  Confederate 
States  Army— Inhuman  Treatment  of  Confederate  Prisoners — J. 
P.  Benjamin  and  Robert  Ould's  Letters. 

ROSTER 

Of  Confederate  Prisoners,  Confined  and  Exchanged,  at  Johnson'? 
Island,  September,  lt?G2. 


ERRATA. 

Preface,  read  Servres  for  "  Serres." 

Chapter  3d,  page  71,  read  Marital  for  "  Martial." 

Chapter  10,  read  Idiosyncrasies  for  "  Idiosynjoin  crusen 

Pa?e  238,  read  Miscreant  for  "  Mother." 

Appendix,  page  322,  read  Editor  for  "Tditor." 


PREFACE. 


THIS  literary  loaf  will  be  composed  of  scraps,  whether 
they  will  be  crumbs  of  comfort  to  the  reader,  is  beyond 
the  ken  of  the  writer  |o  determine,  it  is  simply  a  question 
of  preference,  for  the  dainties  of  freedom  from  Serres' 
China  in  defiance  of  duty,  or  the  more  humble  offerings 
from  tin  plates  in  a  faithful  performance  of  the  same.  It 
is  not  the  intention  of  the  author  to  write  a  history  of  the 
war,  that  laborious  undertaking  will  be  left  to  abler 
hands ;  yet  I  deem  it  due  the  publicj  who  may  honor 
these  "scraps"  by  a  perusal,  to  present  them  with  a 
synopsis,  which  will  be  found  in  my  first  chapter,  the 
creation  of  that  distinguished  Tennessean,  A.  O.  P.  Nich 
olson,  esquire,  of  the  causes  which  led  the  South  to  appeal 
to  the  arbitrament  of  arms,  and  in  which  I  found  justi 
fication  in  drawing  my  sword,  in  opposition  to  the 
encroachments  of  fanaticism,  and  to  aid  in  staying  the 
flood  of  ills  let  loose  upon  the  land  on  the  accession  to 
power  of  the  corrupt  leaders  of  the  abolition  party  of  the 
country — confident  that  the  programme  of  that  party,  if 
successful,  foreshadowed  the  destruction  of  the  Southern 
aristocracy,  one  of  the  most  humane,  social  organizations 
with  power  known  to  History,  and  the  annihilation  of  the 
Democratic  party  South  by  the  political  elevation  of  the 
Black,  and  disfranchisement  of  the  White  Man — thus 
obtaining  and  holding  the  reins  of  Government,  by  wliicl* 
2 


10  PREFACE. 

their  diabolical  purpose   to  inaugurate  a   war  of   races 
would  be  accomplished. 

I  have  no  regrets  for  my  action  in  the  matter — what  I 
did  was  executed  with  an  honest  purpose — and,  although 
not  &  first-doss  warrior^  I  endavored  to  perform  all  duties 
devolving  upon  me,  during  nry  four  years'  service  in  the 
armies  of  the  Confederate  States. 

In  publishing  the  "scraps"  I  am  not  prompted  by  any 
spirit  of  revenge  or  vindictiveness,  but  am  performing 
an  act  of  justice  to  the  people  of  the  South,  in  showing 
how  prisoners  were  treated  at  camp  Chase  and  Johnson's 
island  at  an  early  period  of  the  waf,  before  that  spirit  of 
denionism  led  to  the  atrocities  at  Fort  Delaware — and  at 
other  prison  pens  at  the  North — and  if  we  were  badly 
treated,  as  I  will  clearly  show  we  were  in  these  "  scraps," 
Heaven  alone  could  have  helped  the  suffering  Confederate 
prisoner  at  a  later  period,  to  support  the  brutal  treatment 
to  which  he  was  subjected. 

The  following  letter  from  the  provisional  Governor  of 
Alabama,  Hon.  Lewis  E.  Parsons,  is  attached  as  evidence 
of  my  treatment  of  Union  men  during  the  war  : 

"  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,  STATE  OF  ALABAMA, 
MONTGOMERY,  Sept.  27th,  1865. 

"  To  all  whom  it  may  concern.  1,  Lewis  E.  Parsons, 
Provisional  Governor  of  the  State  of  Alabama,  do  hereby 
certify  that  Joseph  Barbierc,  of  Memphis,  Tenn.,  late  an 
officer  in  the  so-called  Confederate  army,  is  personally 
known  to  me,  having  been  stationed  at  Talladega,  the 
town  of  my  residence,  as  chief  enrolling  officer  of  the 
district.  He  was  marked  for  his  kind  and  considerate 
course  towards  those  of  our  inhabitants  who  were  so  un 
fortunate  as  to  be  within  the  limits  of  the  conscript  law 
of  the  so-called  Confederate  States.  His  treatment  of 
the  poor  of  his  district  was  so  kind  and  humane  that  it 
was  objected  to  by  the  more  ultra  portion  of  our  people. 
In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and 


PREFACE.  1 1 

caused  the  great  seal  of  tlie  State  to  be  affixed,  tins  the 
27th  day  of  September^  A.  D.  1865. 

"  LEWIS  E.  PARSONS, 

"  Pro.  Gov.  of  Ala. 
"By  the  Gov.     ALBERT  ELLMORE,  Sec.  of  State." 

The  following  paragraph  in  a  letter  dated  June  17th, 
1864,  from  the  then  Governor  of  Alabama,  Hon.  T.  H. 
Watts,  is  added  to  show  that  while  considerate  in  my 
treatment  of  Union  men,  I  was  not  derelict  in  my  duty 
to  the  cause  1 wcmnly  espoused'. 

"  I  cannot  withhold  the  expression  of  my  gratification 
on  being  informed  of  the  kind  and  considerate  manner  in 
which  you  have  discharged  your  unpleasant  and  onerous 
duties. 

"  Very  res.  your  obt.  sert., 

"T.  H.  WATTS." 

In  addition  to  the  above,  it  is  the  intention  of  the 
writer  to  give  a  simple  chronicle  of  a  soldier's  life  from 
ca*np  to  field,  thence  to  camp  Chase  and  Johnson's  island, 
with  notes  while  in  confinement.  If  I  give  offence  to 
any  ofticer  whose  name  is  in  the  book,  I  will  exceedingly 
regret  it,  as  I  have  used  their  names  with  a  purpose 
single  to  their  interest  and  amusement — and  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  a  little  family  history  of  those  with  whom  I 
have  associated  may  be  laid  upon  the  family  altar  an 
offering  to  courage  and  gallantry.  Yes  !  let  their  chil 
dren  know  that  even  if  the  voluminous  pages  of  this 
Revolution's  History  neglect  to  record  the  name  of  many 
a  brave  man — it  will  be  found  in  one  little  volume  that 
may  live — say  a  generation — that  is  some  consolation,  for 
I  am  sure  I  would  give  the  price  of  a  small  library,  to  see 
my  grandfather's  name,  who  fought  at  Yorktown,  com 
plimented  for  gallantry,  even  in  an  almanac  ;  and  I  hope 
the  grand-children  of  the  officers  mentioned  in  this  work 
will  appreciate  the  sentiment.  B. 


SCRA.PS 


FROM  THE 


PRISON   TABLE. 


CHAPTER  I. 


COMPLETE   SYNOPSIS   OF    THE   ENCROACHMENTS  OF    THE    RADICAL 
PARTY.-THEIR  WAR  UPON  THE  CONSTITUTION. 


England  was  settled  by  the  Puritans  who  effect- 
ed  the  Revolution  of  1620,  and  decapitated  Charles 
I.  The  Southern  Colonies  were  occupied  by  a  more 
loyal  class.  To  the  noble  family  of  Baltimore  was  grant 
ed,  by  Royal  Charter,  the  province  of  Maryland.  To 
other  staunch  adherents  of  the  crown  were  accorded  grants 
and  privileges  in  Virginia,  North  and  South  Carolina,  and 
Georgia. 

George  Washington  was  the  first  Federal  magistrate, 
chosen  from  a  list  of  twelve  candidates. 

During  his  term,  the  people  divided  into  two  hostile 
parties,  each  striving  for  o'ftice  through  the  profession  of 
opposite  principles.  The  New  England  States,  led  by 
John  Adams,  advocated  the  power  of  the  Federal  Gov 
ernment,  even  to  straining  the  Constitution.  This  was 
the  Federal  party.  The  Southern  States,  led  by  Thomas 
Jefferson,  maintained  State  rights  against  Federal  en 
croachment.  This  was  the  Democratic  party. 


14  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 


In  1797,  John  Adams,  of  Massachusetts,  was  elected 
President  of  the  Confederacy.  During  his  term,  the 
Alien  and  Sedition  laws  were  passed  by  the  Federal  Con 
gress.  These  enactments  were  opposed  by  the  statesmen 
of  the  South,  since,  in  their  opinion,  they  invested  the 
Executive  with  powers  not  conferred  by  the  Constitution 
and  inimical  to  popular  rights.  The  Creation  of  a  Na 
tional  Bank  was  also  a  subject  of  keen  controversy.  The 
public  men  of  the  North  sustained  it  with  ener^,  while 
those  of  the  South  opposed  it  as  unconstitutional  and  of 
doubtful  expediency. 

In  1801,  Thomas  Jefferson,  of  Virginia,  was  elected 
President.  During  this  term,  the  New  England  States 
displayed  a  bitter  animosity  to  the  South,  which  arose, 
chiefly,  from  the  South  having  put  a  limit  to  the  slave- 
trade,  in  which  these  States  were  profitably  engaged. 
When,  therefore,  President  Jefferson  proposed  the  pur 
chase  of  Louisiana  from  France,  the  Eastern  States  vio 
lently  resisted,  because  it  increased  the  territory  and 
power  of  the  South.  Congress  empowered  the  purchase, 
April,  1803. 

In  1805,  Thomas  Jefferson  was  re-elected  to  the  Presi 
dency.  His  second  term  was  troubled  by  the  war  between 
England  and  France.  The  Berlin  :ind  Milan  decrees  of 
Napoleon,  and  the  Orders  in  Council  of  the  British  Gov 
ernment,  equally  assailed  American  interests.  Our  vessels, 
bound  either  to  English  or  French  ports,  incurred  capture 
and  confiscation.  This  left  but  one  alternative,  either  to 
abandon  our  trade  with  Europe,  or  go  to  war  to  protect 
it.  To  escape  the  latter,  President  Jefferson  recommend 
ed- an  Embargo  Act,  to  put  a  temporary  stop  to  all  our 
foreign  trade.  This  was  vehemently  opposed  by  the  New 
England  States,  because  their  interests,  being  chiefly 
commercial,  were  seriously  damaged.  The  Embargo  Act 
was  passed  by  Congress  in  December,  1807;  whereupon 
the  Eastern  States  threatened  to  secede  from  the  Union, 
and  form  a  Northern  Confederacy. 

In  1809,  James  Madison,  of  Virginia,  was  elected 
President.  Soon  after  his  accession,  March  1809,  the 
Embargo  Act  was  repealed,  to  appease  the  New  England 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.         15 

States  ;  and  a  less  stringent  law,  tlie  Non-intercourse  Act, 
was  passed  by  Congress,  May,  1809,  which  prohibited 
trade  with  England  and  France.  New  England,  how 
ever,  carried  on  an  indirect  trade  with  Europe,  through 
Canada.  In  spite  of  all  these  precautions  by  the  Gov 
ernment,  our  interests  and  dignity  were  incessantly  out 
raged  by  England.  Finally,  the  indignation  of  the  coun 
try  compelled  Congress  to  declare  war,  May,  1812. 

In  1813,  James  Madison  was  re-elected  President. 
During  the  war,  the  Government  was  supported  by  direct 
taxes  and  requisitions  upon  the  States ;  but  the  New 
England  States  refused,  for  the  most  part  to  contrib 
ute.  The  war  closed,  January,  1815.  To  resuscitate 
the  Federal  treasury,  a  new  financial  policy  was  in 
augurated.  A  tariff  of  high  duties  was  passed  by  Con 
gress,  April,  1816.  New  England  advocated  this  law, 
because,. during  the  war,  she  had  transferred  her  capital 
from  commerce  to  manufactures,  for  which  she  desired 
protection.  The  South  was  injured  by  the  tariff,  but  she 
supported  it  from  patriotic  motives.  John  C.  Calhoun, 
of  South  Carolina,  went  so  far  as  to  introduce  a  mini 
mum  rate  for  ad  valorem  duties,  that  is,  a  rate  below 
which  the  duties^should  not  fall.  A  new  National  Bank 
act  was  also  passed,  April,  1816 ;  the  old  one  having  ex 
pired  in  1811. 

In  1817,  James  Monroe,  of  Virginia,  was  elected  Presi 
dent.  During  this  term,  the  interests  of  the  country 
prospered.  No  struggle  occurred  between  the  politicians 
of  New  England  and  the  South,  till  1820,  when  Missouri 
applied  for  admission  into  the  Union  as  a  Slave  State. 
The  Eastern  States  opposed  it  violently,  on  the  ground 
of  extending  slavery.  The  Union  was  in  danger  of  dis 
solution,  when,  finally  Missouri  was  admitted  by  Congress 
as  a  Slave  State,  on  the  compromise  that  thereafter  no 
Slave  States  should  be  created  north  of  36°  30'  parallel 
of  latitude. 

In  1821,  James  Monroe  was  re-elected  Prsident.  Dur 
ing  this  term,  a  new  conflict  arose  between  the  politicians 
of  New  England  and  those  of  the  South,  on  the  subject 
of  the  tariff  policy  inaugurated  at  the  peace.  New  Eng- 


16  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

land  demanded  more  protection  for  her  manufactures. 
This  the  South  opposed,  on  the  ground  that  her  manu 
factures  had  protection  enough,  and  next,  because  an  in 
crease  of  the  tariff  was  seriously  detrimental  to  the  inter 
ests  of  the  South. 

In  1825,  John  Quincy  Adams,  of  Massachusetts,  was 
elected  President.  During  this  term,  a  heated  contest  was 
carried  on  between  New  England  and  the  South,  on  the 
tariff  policy.  In  1828,  a  new  act  was  passed  by  Con 
gress,  which  raised  the  duties  to  an  almost  prohibitory 
standard.  The  average  was  40  per  cent,  on  imports. 
The  South  designated  this  act  as  the  "  Black  Tariff." 

In  1829,  Andrew  Jackson,  of  Tennessee,  became  Presi 
dent.  During  this  term,  the  extreme  Tariff  policy  of 
New  England  led  to  violent  remonstrance  in  South  Caro 
lina,  whose  interests  were  seriously  injured.  She  alleged 
that  a  policy  to  enrich  one  section  of  the  country  at  the 
expense  of  another  was  unjust  and  unconstitutional.  She 
threatened  to  resist  this  policy  by  force.  A  compromise 
was  effected,  March,  1833,  by  which  the  obnoxious  tariff 
was  modified  by  Congress. 

In  1833,  Andrew  Jackson  was  re-elected  President. 
During  this  term,  an  acrimonious  struggle  was  carried  on 
between  the  politicians  of  the  North  aiM  South,  on  the 
National  Bank,  created  at  the  peace.  The  former 
maintained  it  was  necessary  to  their  trade  and  commerce  ; 
the  latter,  while  denying  its  constitutionality  and  expedi 
ency,  also  avowed  their  fears  of  its  becoming  a  political 
machine,  that  might  in  the  hands  of  unscrupulous  poli 
ticians,  do  much  harm.  The  charter  was  allowed  to 
expire  in  1836.  A  policy  known  under  the  name  of 
"  Internal  Improvements,"  was  also  discussed  in  this  term. 
It  had  the  support  of  the  North,  but  the  South  opposed 
it,  as  favoring  one  section  at  the  cost  of  the  others. 

In  1837,  Martin  Van  Buren,  of  New  York,  was  elected 
President.  During  this  term,  great  financial  disorder  pre 
vailed  in  the  country.  The  Northern  politicians  proposed, 
as  a  panacea,  a  new  National  Bank,  a  higher  Tariff,  and 
a  Bankrupt  Law.  The  South  opposed  them  all,  as  un 
necessary  and  sectional  in  their  tendency. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.         17 

In  1841,  William  Henry  Harrison,  of  Ohio,  was  elected 
President.  He  died  soon  after  his  accession  to  office. 
The  Presidency  was  then  administered  by  the  Vice  Presi 
dent,  John  Tyler,  of  Virginia,  as  provided  by  the  Con 
stitution.  During  this  term,  Northern  policy  mostly 
prevailed.  The  Tariff  was  augmented,  September,  1841, 
and  August,  1842.  A  Bankrupt  Law  was  passed,  August, 
1841.  A  law  was  carried  through  Congress,  July,  1841, 
dividing  the  public  domain  among  the  respective  States, 
in  proportion  to  their  population.  The  effect  of  this  was 
favorable  to  the  manufacturing  States  of  New  England  ; 
for,  by  cutting  off  from  the  Federal  treasury  the  receipts 
from  the  public  lands,  it  made  a  higher  Tariff  imperative, 
to  insure  a  sufficient  revenue.  The  new  bank  charter 
failed.  At  the  end  of  eighteen  months,  the  Bankrupt  Act 
was  repealed,  1843.  A  new  Slave  State,  Texas,  \vas 
admitted  to  the  Union,  March  3,  1845.  The  act  for 
dividing  the  public  lands  was  repealed,  January,  1842,  as 
it  wras  found  necessary  to  retain  them  as  security  for 
Federal  loans. 

In  1845,  James  K.  Polk,  of  Tennessee,  was  inaugurated 
President.  During  his  term,  the  Tariff,  which  was  pres 
sing  heavily  on  the  interests  of  the  South,  was  modified, 
July,  1846.  The  President,  in  a  special  message  to 
Congress,  May,  1846,  announced  that  the  Government  of 
Mexico  had  committed  an  act  of  wrar  against  the  Confed 
eracy.  On  this  occasion,  all  sections  of  the  country, 
North  and  South  and  West,  united  in  declaring  war 
against  Mexico.  The  war  closed,  February,  1848.  The 
treaty  of  Gaudalupe-Hidalgo,  which  followed,  ceded  Cali 
fornia  and  New  Mexico  to  the  United  States. 

In  1849,  Zachary  Taylor,  of  Mississippi,  became  Presi 
dent.  During  this  term,  the  old  issues  between  the  poli 
ticians  of  the  North  and  South  were  abandoned,  to  wit : 
the  Tariff  policy,  a  National  Bank,  a  system  of  Internal 
Improvements,  a  Division  of  the  Public  Lands.  The 
recent  acquisitions  of  territory,  however,  afforded  the 
public  men  of  both  sections  a  fertile  field  of  discussion. 
The  North  contended  against  admitting  slavery  into  the 
new  territory.  The  South  declared  that  its  right  to  joint 


18  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

occupation  was  incontestible,  both  in  law  and  equity,  and 
proposed  that  the  compromise  of  1820  should  be  renewed, 
by  extending  the  Missouri  line  of  36°" 80' to  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  This  the  politicians  of  the  North  refused.  The 
controversy  became  so  violent,  that  a  separation  of  the 
North  and  South  seemed  imminent.  A  compromise, 
however,  took  place  in  1850,  which  stopped  the  discus 
sion,  but  did  not  settle  the  main  point  in  dispute,  namely  : 
the  right  of  the  South  to  joint  occupation  of  all  new 
territory. 

In  1853,  Franklin  Pierce,  of  New  Hampshire,  became 
President.  During  this  term,  the  discussion  on  slavery 
was  renewed.  A  portion  of  western  territory,  named 
Nebraska,  was  divided  into  two  territories.  One  of  these 
was  called  Kansas  and  the  other  Nebra>ka.  The  com 
promise  line  of  36°  30'  ran  to  the  south  of  these  territories, 
which  would  have  given  Kansas  as  well  as  Nebraska,  the 
largest,  to  the  North.  On  the  proposition  of  the  Senator 
from  Illinois,  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  the  compromise  line 
was  repealed  by  Congress.  Emigrant  societies  were 
established  in  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut,  in  1854,  to 
furnish  pecuniary  aid  to  settlers  in  Kansas.  In  conse 
quence,  a  hostile  population  from  the  North  poured  into 
Kansas.  Bands  of  armed  men  from  the  North  paraded 
the  territory.  The  Federal  Government,  whose  jurisdic 
tion  extended  over  this  distant  country,  was  finally  forced 
to  interfere.  The  leaders  of  the  anti-slavery  propaganda, 
having  violated  the  Federal  prerogative  by  passing  a 
constitution  and  electing  a  Governor,  were  indicted  for 
treason,  and  obliged  to  take  flight. 

In  1857,  James  Buchanan,  of  Pennsylvania,  was  inau 
gurated  President.  The  whole  of  this  term  was  disturbed 
by  a  heated  contest  between  the  politicians  of  the  North, 
on  the  subject  of  slavery  in  the  territories.  Towards 
the  close  of  this  Presidency,  the  prolonged  strife  be 
tween  the  politicians,  on  the  topic  of  slavery,  was  taken 
up  by  the  people  of  the  two  sections,  in  an  election  for  a 
new  President,  November,  1860.  The  Northern  States, 
being  in  the  majority,  pronounced  in  favor  of  Abraham 
Lincoln,  of  Illinois,  the  exponent  of  their  sectional  views. 


SCKAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 


19 


Under  these  circumstances,  the  Southern  States  have 
dissolved  their  connection  with  the  Union.  The  civil 
compact  they  made  with  the  Northern  States,  in  1789, 
guaranteeing  equal  rights  to  both,  and  equal  protection 
to  all,  had  been  violated.  Being  in  a  minority  in  the 
Confederacy,  they  could  oppose  no  legal  barrier  to  the 
anti-slavery  sentiments  of  the  North,  which,  carried  into 
legislation,  would  confiscate  their  property,  and  even 
involve  their  lives. 

The  abolitionist  is  a  practical  atheist.  In  the  language 
of  one  of  their  congregational  ministers — Rev.  Henry 
Wright,  of  Massachusetts : 

"  The  God  of  humanity  is  not  the  God  of  slavery.  If 
so,  shame  upon  such  a  God.  I  scorn  him.  I  will  never 
bow  to  his  shrine ;  my  head  shall  go  off  with  my  hat 
when  I  take  it  off  to  such  a  God  as  that.  If  the  Bible 
sanctions  slavery,  the  Bible  is  a  self-evident  falsehood. 
And,  if  God  should  declare  it  to  be  right,  I  would  fasten 
the  chain  upon  the  heel  of  such  a  God,  and  let  the  man  go 
free.  Such  a  God  is  a  phantom." 

The  religion  of  the  people  of  NewT  England  is  a  pecu 
liar  morality,  around  which  the  minor  matters  of  society 
arrange  themselves  like  ferruginous  particles  around  a 
loadstone.  All  the  elements^  obey  this  general  law.  Ac- 
customed  to  doing  as  it  pleases,  New  England  "  morality" 
has  usually  accomplished  what  it  has  undertaken.  It  has 
attacked  the  Sunday  mails,  assaulted  Free  Masonry.  Its 
channels  have  been  societies,  meetings,  papers,  lectures, 
sermons,  resolutions,  memorials,  protests,  legislation,  pri 
vate  discussion,  public  addresses ;  in  a  word,  every  con 
ceivable  method  whereby  appeal  may  be  brought  to  mind. 
Its  spirit  has  been  agitation — and  its  language,  fruits  and 
measures,  have  partaken  throughout  of  a  character  that  is 
thoroughly  warlike.  •; >>s 

"  In  language  no  element  ever  flung  out  more  defiance 
of  authority,  contempt  of  religion,  or  authority  to  man. 
As  to  agency,  no  element  of  earth  has  broken  up  more 
friendships  and  families,  societies  and  parties,  churches 
and  denominations,  or  ruptured  more  organizations,  po 
litical,  social  or  domestic.  And  as  to  measures  !  What 


20  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

spirit  of  man  ever  stood  upon  earth  with  bolder  front  and 
wielded  fiercer  weapons  ?  Stirring  harangues !  Stern 
resolutions !  Fretful  memorials  !  Angry  protests  !  In 
cendiary  pamphlets  at  the  South !  Hostile  legislation  at 
the  Nortli !  Underground  railroads  at  the  West !  Re 
sistance  to  the  Constitution !  Division  of  the  Union ! 
Military  contribution !  Sharpens  rifles !  Higher  law  ! 
If  this  is  not  belligerence  enough,  Mohammed's  work  and 
the  old  Crusades  were  an  appeal  to  argument  and  not  to 
arms." 

It  is  a  very  common  error  that  the  Puritans  persecuted 
themselves  for  opinion's  sake,  sought  liberty  of  conscience 
in  the  wilderness  of  America,  and  there  erected  its  altar. 
To  Sir  George  Calvert  belongs  the  imperishable  glory  of 
first  establishing  a  government  of  which  universal  tolera 
tion  and  religious  freedom  were  the  chief  foundation 
stones.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  the  same  spot — the 
shores  of  Maryland — which  was  thus  embalmed  in  the  af 
fections  of  freemen,  should,  after  the  lapse  of  a  little  more 
than  two  centuries  and  a  quarter,  be  the  first  territory  of 
the  great  republic  desecrated  by  the  foot  of  the  tyrant, 
and  the  extinction  of  political  and  civil  liberty. 

It  is  true  that  the  Puritans  fled  from  England  on  ac 
count  of  violent  opposition,  amounting  to  persecution. 
In  thus  expatriating  these  schismatics,  the  English  of  that* 
day,  as  subsequent  developments  have  demonstrated,  ex 
hibited  a  thorough  insight  into  the  nature  and  tendencies 
of  their  principles  and  character.  One  of  their  first  acts, 
after  their  colony  had  assumed  some  form  and  substance, 
was  the  establishment  of  a  spiritual  despotism  and  relig 
ious  intolerance  as  cruel  and  relentless  as  the  Roman  In 
quisition  in  Spain.  Professing  to  be  themselves  religious 
refugees,  they  denounced  a  dreary  banishment  against  all 
heretics  and  non-conformists.  Every  student  of  American 
history  is  familiar  with  the  sad  but  ever-glorious  story  of 
Roger  Williams.  He  was  a  fugitive  from  the  persecu 
tions  of  the  old  world,  but,  unlike  his  fellow-suiferers, 
comprehended  the  nature  and  wrong  of  intolerance,  and 
proposed  the  true  remedy.  He  taught  that  "  the  civil 
magistrate  should  restrain  crime,  but  never  control  opinion; 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  21 

should  punish  guilt,  but  never  violate  the  freedom  of  the 
soul."  He  contended  for  the  abolition  of  all  laws  punish 
ing  non-conformists,  requiring  the  performance  of  religious 
duties,  enforcing  pecuniary  contributions  to  the  support 
of  the  church ;  and  that  equal  protection  should  be  ex 
tended  to  every  religious  belief — the  peace  of  the  State, 
like  the  vital  fluid  we  breathe,  surrounding  and  gathering 
alike  over  mosque,  synagogue,  cathedral,  and  the  humble 
"house  of  God"  of  the  Protestant,  securing  to  their 
respective  worshippers  unmolested  sanctity  of  conscience. 
For  holding  and  advocating  these  just  and  truly  sublime 
doctrines,  now  fully  recognized  and  enforced  by  the  free 
Constitution  of  the  Confederate  States,  this  "  young  min 
ister,  godly  and  zealous,  having  precious  gifts,"  and  whose 
opinions  and  teachings  we  have  given  in  almost  the  iden 
tical  language  of  the  historian,  was  most  cruelly  persecuted 
by  the  Puritans,  and  forced  to  hide  himself  in  the  recesses 
of  the  howling  wilderness  "  in  winter  snow  and  inclement 
weather,  of  which  he  remembered  the  severity  even  in 
his  late  old  age."  "  Often,"  says  Bancroft,  "  in  the  stormy 
night  he  had  neither  fire,  nor  food,  nor  company ;  often 
he  wandered  without  a  guide,  and  had  no  house  but  a 
hollow  tree."  The  savage  of  the  forest,  more  tolerant 
than  these  narrow  bigots,  and  who  knew  not  his  God  at 
all,  kindly  rescued  him  from  from  the  dread  doom  to 
which  he  had  been  consigned,  to  find  a  new  home,  and 
found  a  new  State,  by  the  undisturbed  waters  of  the  Nar- 
ragansett.  Mrs.  Hutchinson,  a  most  pure  and  excellent 
woman,  for  the  same  crime,  suffered  the  same  miserable 
persecutions.  There  is  no  more  infallible  criterion  of  the 
tone  of  a  people  than  the  position  occupied  by  the  weaker 
sex.  Gallantry  was  the  guiding-star  of  returning  light  in 
the  mediaeval  ages.  Devotion  to  women  makes  gentle 
men.  And  where  gentlemen  inhabit,  there  wroman  "  rules 
the  court,  the  camp,  the  grove  ;"  her  refined  presence 
elevates  him  above .  his  more  grovelling  nature  ;  and  in 
return  he  is  in  very  truth  her  slave,  and  with  life  and 
Umb  and  manly  honor  devoted  to  her  service.  The  his 
torical  fact  which  we  last  mentioned,  therefore,  truly 
illustrates  Yankee  character.  Heavens !  what  a  spectacle  ! 


22  SCRAPS  FIIOM  THE  PKISON  TABLE. 

a  horde  of  mean-spirited,  whining  Yankees  pelting  a 
shivering,  defenceless  woman  into  a  Vigorous  exile,  for 
entertaining  a  peculiar  opinion,  or  not  conforming  to  some 
rite  of  public,  worship.  And  with  what  unutterable  indig 
nation  does  the  blood  boil  at  the  hanging  of  Mary  Dyer, 
simply  because  she  was  a  Quaker.  This  ^vas  her  only 
offence.  She  died,  and  died  upon  the  gallows,  because 
she  held  a  faith  different  from  those  people  who  had  de 
moted  t/ieniselve$  a  sacrifice  on  tJie  altar  of  religious  liberty. 
The  ferocious  and  bloody  fanaticism  of  the  witchcraft 
persecutions  is  too  revolting  for  statement.  It  is  enough 
to  recur  to  it. 

Glance  for  a  moment  at  the  Puritans  in  power  in  the 
colony  of  Maryland,  in  the  year  1676.  We  have  already 
alluded  to  the  fact  that  the  Roman  Catholics  had  there 
established  perfect  freedom  of  conscience,  and  opened  an 
asylum  for  the  persecuted  and  proscribed  of  every  faith. 
Availing  themselves  of  this  liberality  of  religious  jurispru 
dence,  many  Puritans  from  New  England  entered  the 
colony,  and  in  the  course  of  a  revolution,  in  the  year  we 
have  named,  mounted  into  political  power.  The  earliest 
exercise  of  sovereignty  by  this  new  and  godly  regime  was 
an  edict  prohibiting  the  freedom  of  public  worship  to  all 
papists  and  prelatists.  Here  we  see  manifested  the  same 
despicable  spirit  that  now  animates  the  Abolition  party 
of  the  country.  Indeed,  the  Yankee  is  the  same  animal 
in  all  ages,  and  in  all  situations.  lie  is  " universal." 

The  great  fathers  of  the  State  were  convinced  that  the 
heterogeneous  peoples,  whom  they  had  bound  together, 
would  not  long  dwell  in  peace.  Washington  sincerely 
desired  the  perpetuation  of  the  Union,  but  he  died  in  the 
belief  that,  in  the  course  of  time,  his  tomb  would  become 
the  exclusive  property  of  the  South.  And  John  Adams, 
perhaps  the  next  man  to  Alexander  Hamilton,  among  the 
Northern  patriots,  had  a  clear  arid  unclouded  vision  of 
the  great  rupture,  though  he  was  somewhat  deceived  as1 
to  its  proximity  to  his  own  day.  The  following  passage 
from  Mr.  Jefferson's  diary,  presents  the  views  of  Mr. 
Adams  upon  this  subject,  and  is  also  interesting  as  another 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  23 

illustration  of  the  supreme  meanness  of  Yankee  sentiment, 
even  its  most  exalted  type  : 

"December  the  30th,  1803.  The  Kev.  Mr.  Coffin, 
of  New  England,  who  is  now  here,  soliciting  donations 
for  a  college  in  Green  county,  in  Tennessee,  tells  me  that 
when  he  first  determined  to  engage  in  this  enterprise, 
he  wrote  a  paper,  recommendatory  of  the  enterprise, 
which  he  meant  to  get  signed  by  clergymen,  and  a  simi 
lar  one  for  persons  in  a  civil  character,  at  the  head  of 
which  he  wished  Mr.  Adams  to  put  his  name,  he  being 
then  President,  and  the  application  going  only  for  his 
name,  and  not  for  a  donation.  Mr.  Adams,  after  reading 
the  paper  and  considering,  said  '  he  saw  110  possibility  of 
continuing  the  union  of  the  States  ;  that  their  dissolution 
must  necessarily  take  place  ;  that  he,  therefore,  saw  no 
propriety  in  recommending  to  New  England  men  to  pro 
mote  a  literary  institution  in  the  South  ;  that  it  was,  in 
fact,  giving  strength  to  those  who  wrere  to  be  their  ene 
mies,  and  therefore  he  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  it.'  " 

What  was  philanthrophy  in  our  forefathers  has  become 
misanthropy  in  their  descendants,  and -compassion  for  the 
slave  has  given  way  to  malignity  against  the  master. 
Consequences  are  nothing.  The  one  idea  pre-eminent 
above  all  others  is  abolition  ! 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  in  this  connection  that  most  abo 
litionists  know  little  or  nothing  of  slavery  and  slavehold 
ers  beyond  what  they  have  learned  from  excited,  caressed, 
and  tempted  fugitives,  or  from  a  superficial,  accidental, 
or  prejudiced  observation.  From  distorted  facts,  gross 
misrepresentations,  and  frequently  malicious  caricatures, 
they  have  come  to  regard  Southern  slaveholders  as  the 
most  unprincipled  men  in  the  universe,  with  no  incentive 
but  avarice,  no  feeling  but  selfishness,  and  no  sentiment 
but  cruelty. 

Their  information  is  acquired  from  discharged  seamen, 
runaway  slaves,  agents,  factious  politicians,  and  scur 
rilous  tourists;  and  no  matter  how  exaggerated  may  be 
the  facts,  they  never  fail  to  find  willing  believers  among 
this  class  of  people. 

In  the  Church,   the  missionary  spirit  with  which  the 


24  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

men  of  other  times  and  nobler  hearts  intended  to  embrace 
all,  both  bond  and  free,  has  been  crushed  out.  New 
methods  of  Scriptural  interpretation  have  been  discovered, 
under  which  the  Bible  brings  to  light  tilings  of  which 
Jesus  Christ  and  his  disciples  had  no  conception.  As 
semblings  for  divine  worship  have  been  converted  into 
occasions  for  the  secret  dissemination  of  incendiary  doc 
trines,  and  thus  a  common  suspicion  has  been  generated 
of  all  Northern  agency  in  the  diffussion  of  religious 
instruction  among  the  slaves.  Of  the  five  broad,  beauti 
ful  bands  of  Christianity  thrown  around  the  North  and 
the  South — Presbyterian,  old  school  and  new,  Episco 
palian,  Methodist,  and  Baptist,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
divisions  of  Bible,  tract,  and  missionary  societies — three 
are  already  ruptured — and  whenever  an  anniversary 
brings  together  the  various  delegates  of  these  organiza 
tions,  the  sad  spectacle  is  presented  of  division,  wrangling, 
vituperation,  and  reproach,  that  gives  to  religion  and  its 
professors  any  thing  but  that  meekness  of  spirit  with 
which  it  is  wont  to  be  invested. 

Politically,  the  course  of  abolition  has  been  one  of  con 
stant  aggression  upon  the  South. 

At  the  time  of  the  old  Confederation,  the  amount  of 
territory  owned  by  the  Southern  States  was  647,202 
square  miles ;  and  the  amount  owned  by  the  Northern 
States,  164,081.  In  1783,  Virginia  ceded  to  the  United 
States,  for  the  ccnnmon  benefit,  all  her  immense  territory 
northwest  of  the  river  Ohio.  In  1787,  the  Northern 
States  appropriated  it  to  their  own  exclusive  use,  by 
passing  the  celebrated  ordinance  of  that  year,  whereby 
Virginia  and  all  her  sister  States  were  excluded  from  the 
benefits  of  the  territory.  This  was  the  first  in  the  series 
of  aggressions. 

Again,  in  April,  1803,  the  United  States  purchased 
from  Fi  ance,  for  fifteen  millions  of  dollars,  the  territory 
of  Louisiana,  comprising  an  area  of  1,189,112  square 
miles,  the  whole  of  which  was  slaveholding  territory.  In 
1821,  by  the  passage  of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  964,- 
667  square  miles  of  this  was  converted  into  free  territory. 

Again,  by  the  treaty  with  Spain,   of  February,   1819, 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  25 

the  United  States  gained  the  territory  from  which  the 
present  State  of  Florida  was  formed,  with  an  area  of 
59,268  square  miles,  and  also  the  Spanish  title  of  Oregon, 
from  which  they  acquired  an  area  of  341,463  square 
miles.  Of  this  cession,  Flordia  only  has  been  allowed  to 
the  Southern  States,  while  the  balance — nearly  six- 
sevenths  of  the  whole — was  appropriated  by  the  North. 

Again,  by  the  Mexican  cession,  was  acquired  526,078 
square  miles,  which  the  North  attempted  to  appropriate 
under  the  pretence  of  the  Mexican  laws,  but  which  was 
prevented  by  the  measures  of  the  Compromise  of  1850. 
Of  slave  territory  cut  off  from  Texas,  there  have  been 
44,662  square  miles. 

To  sum  this  up,  the  total  amount  of  territory  acquired 
under  the  Constitution  has  been,  by  the 

Northwestern  cession 286,681  square  miles. 

Louisiana  cession 1,189,112       " 

Florida  and  Oregon  cession 400,731      "          " 

Mexican  cession 526,078      " 

Total : 2,402,602       "  " 

Of  all  this  territory,  the  Southern  States  have  been 
permitted  to  enjoy  only  283,713  square  miles,  while  the 
Northern  States  have  been  allowed  2,083,889  square 
miles,  or  between  seven  and  eight  times  more  than  has 
been  allowed  to  the  South. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  invasions  that  have 
.been,  from  time  to  time,  proposed  upon  the  Constitution, 
in  the  halls  of  Congress,  by  these  agitators  : 

1.  That  the  clause  allowing  the  representation  of  three- 
fifths  of  the  slaves  shall  be  obliterated  from  the  Constitu 
tion  ;  or,  in  other  words,  that  the  South,  already  in  a 
vast  and  increasing  minority,  shall  be  still  further  reduced 
in  the  scale  of  insignificance,  and  thus,  on  every  attempted 
usurpation  of  her  rights,  be  far  below  the  protection  of 
even  a  Presidential  veto. 

Next  has  been  demanded  the  abolition  of  slavery  in. 
the  District  of  Columbia,  in  the  forts,  arsenals,  navy 
yards  and  other  public  establishments  of  the  United 
States.  What  object  have  the  abolitionists  had  for  rais 
ing  all  this  clamor  about  a  little  patch  of  soil  ten  miles 
3 


26  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

square,  and  a  few  inconsiderable  places,  thinly  scattered 
over  the  land — a  mere  grain  of  sand  upon  the  beach — 
unless  it  be  to  establish  the  precedent  of  Congressional 
interference,  which  would  enable  them  to  make  a  whole 
sale  incursion  upon  the  constitutional  rights  of  the  South, 
and  to  drain  from  the  vast  ocean  of  alleged  national  guilt 
its  last  drop  ?  Does  any  one  suppose  that  a  mere  micro 
scopic  concession  like  this  would  alone  appease  a  con 
science  wounded  and  lacerated  by  the  "  sin  of  slavery  ?" 

Another  of  these  aggressions  is  that  which  was  propos 
ed  under  the  pretext  of  regulating  commerce  between  the 
States — namely,  that  no  slave,  for  any  purpose  and  un 
der  any  circumstances  whatever,  shall  be  carried  by  his 
lawful  owner  from  one  slaveholding  State  to  another  ;  or, 
in  other  words,  that  where  slavery  now  is  there  it  shall 
remain  forever,  until,  by  its  own  increase,  the  slave  popu 
lation  shall  outnumber  the  white  race,  and  thus  by  a 
united  combination  of  causes — the  fears  of  the  master,  the 
diminution  in  value  of  his  property,  and  the  exhausted 
condition  of  the  soil — the  final  purposes  of  fanaticism  may 
be  accomplished. 

We  might  also  refer  to  the  armed  and  bloody  opposi 
tion  to  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law,  to  the  passage  of  Per 
sonal  Liberty  Bills,  to  political  schemes  in  Congress  and 
out,  and  to  systematic  agitation  everywhere,  with  a  view 
to  stay  the  progress  of  the  South,  contract  her  political 
power/  and  eventually  lead,  at  her  expense,  if  not  of  the 
Union  itself,  to  the  utter  expurgation  of  this  "tremen 
dous  national  sin." 

In  short,  the  abolitionists  have  contributed  nothing  to 
the  welfare  of  the  slave  or  of  the  South.  While  over  one 
hundred  and  fifty  millions  have  been  expended  by  slave 
holders  in  emancipation,  except  in  those  sporadic  cases 
where  the  amount  was  capital  invested  in  self-glorification, 
the  abolitionists  have  not  expended  one  cent. 

More  than  this  :  They  have  defeated  the  very  objects 
at  which  they  have  aimed.  When  Virginia,  Maryland, 
Kentucky,  or  some  other  border  State  has  come  so  near 
to  the  passage  of  gradual  emancipation  laws  that  the 
hopes  of  the  real  friends  of  the  movement  seemed  about 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  27 

to  be  realized,  abolitionism  has  stepped  in,  and,  with  fran 
tic  appeals  to  the  passions  of  the  negroes,  through  incen 
diary  publications,  dashed  them  to  the  ground,  and  pro 
ducing  a  reaction  throughout  the  entire  community  that 
has  crushed  out  every  incipient  thought  of  future  manu 
mission. 

We  come  now  to  the  train  of  historical  facts  upon  which 
we  rely  in  proof  of  the  foregoing  assertions. 

From  what  I  have  already  stated,  it  may  be  seen  that 
during  the  colonial  existence  of  this  country,  African 
Slavery  had  been  introduced  and  overspread  its  whole 
surface.  The  Southern  Colonies  had,  from  the  fertility 
of  the  soil  and  the  value  of  their  productions,  become  the 
most  profitable  mart  for  Black  labor ;  but  the  influx 
gradually  outstripped  their  productive  powers,  and  began, 
as  elsewhere,  to  inspire  the  leading  men  of  that  section 
with  serious  alarm.  They  devised  what  means  they  could 
to  check  it,  but  commercial  rapacity  eluded  or  overpow 
ered  their  remonstrances.  While  the  Southern  Colonies 
were  thus  suffering,  at  this  early  date,  both  inconvenience 
and  detriment  from  the  Blacks  who  were  forced  upon 
them,  the  Northern,  or  New  England  Colonies,  were 
driving  a  brisk  and  profitable  business  upon  the  solitary 
basis  of  the  African  Slave  Trade.  The  principal  occu 
pations  of  these  Colonies  consisted  of  Commerce  and  the 
Fisheries.  The  New  England  ships  made  the  voyage 
to  England  with  tobacco,  rice,  and  other  Southern  pro 
ducts,  and  then  took  in  British  manufactures  for  the  Gold 
Coast,  which  exchanging  for  Blacks,  they  returned  with 
them  to  the  Southern  Colonies,  sold  them,  and  reloaded 
with  tobacco,  etc.,  for  the  North  and  Europe,  as  before, 
thus  completing  the  round  voyage.  The  fisheries  em 
ployed  a  considerable  number  of  persons,  and  the  cured 
tish  found  sale  chiefly  in  the  Catholic  countries  of  Europe, 
mostly  in  exchange  for  coin,  which  was  always  in  demand 
for  England.  Large  quantities  of  these  fish  were  sold  in 
the  West  Indies  for  sugar  and  molasses.  The  latter  was 
distilled  into  rum,  which,  in  the  changing  character  of 
the  Slave  Trade  on  the  Coast  under  the  British  Governors, 
rapidly  became  a  favorite  article  of  barter  for  Blacks, 


28  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

greatly  to  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  English  manufacturers 
of  coast-goods.  Lord  Sheffield,  in  lire  report  to  the  Par 
liamentary  Committee  of  1777,  states,  that  "  out  of  the 
Slavers  which  periodically  left  Boston,  thirteen  of  them 
were  loaded  with  rum  only,  and  that,  having  exchanged 
this  for  2,888  Negroes  with  the  Governors  of  the  Gold 
Coast,  they  carried  them  thence  to  the  Southern  Colo 
nies."  The  same  report  mentions  that  during  the  three 
years  ending  with  1770,  New  England  had  sent  270,147 
gallons  of  rum  to  the  Gold  Coast.  Thus,  from  what  I 
have  stated,  the  startling  fact  will  be  elicited,  that  the 
Northern  and  Southern  Colonies,  long  before  the  breaking 
out  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  were  engaged  in  a  lively 
controversy  on  the  subject  of  slavery  ;  the  South  resisting 
the  excessive  flow  of  Blacks  into  their  section,  and  New 
England  persisting  in  the  importation  for  the  profits  of 
the  trade.  The  South  was  anxious  to  stop  the  Slave 
Trade  and  manumit  their  Blacks,  but  New  England,  like 
the  mother  country,  was  not  disposed  to  listen  to  them, 
and  abandon  so  lucrative  a  traffic. 

Mr.  Jefferson,  of  Virginia,  seems  to  have  been  one  of 
the  most  earnest  advocates  of  the  Southern  sentiment. 
In  1777,  being  then  a  member  of  the  Virginia  Legisla 
ture,  he  brought  in  a  bill  which  became  a  law,  "  to  pre 
vent  the  importation  of  slaves."  He  also  proposed  a 
system  of  general  emancipation,  as  a  preliminary  to  which 
he  introduced  a  bill  to  authorize  manumission,  and  this 
became  a  law.  In  these  efforts  he  had  the  support  and 
sympathy  of  the  Slaveholding  States,  who  were  overrun 
with  slaves,  that  returned  no  adequate  remuneratian. 
At  this  period  their  numbers  reached  some  600, 000,. a 
part  of  whom  were  employed  in  raising  tobacco  and  rice. 
The  majority  of  them,  however,  were  occupied  in  domes 
tic  farm-labor,  producing  no  exportable  values.  Hence 
there  was  no  profit  in  slavery  at  the  South,  while  at  the 
North  it  was  even  a  greater  burden.  Massachusetts  found 
it  so  unproductive  that,  in  1780,  she  abolished  it  in  her 
own  borders,  but  she  did  not  cease  for  that  reason  to 
force  it,  by  her  importations,  on  the  South. 

In  the  Congress  of  the  Confederation,  the  views  of  the 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  29 

North  and  South  on  the  subject  of  slavery,  founded  on 
interests  so  antagonistic,  frequently  came  into  collision. 
It  was  at  this  epoch,  too,  that  Virginia,  Georgia,  and 
other  Southern  States,  ceded  to  the  Federal  Government, 
for  the  common  benefit  of  all  the  States,  their  immense 
Western  Territories.  All  the  States  were  then  Slave- 
holding,  and  the  idea  that  a  man  could  not  hold  his  slaves 
in  any  part  of  the  territory  of  the  United  States,  had 
never  yet  been  broached.  On  the  contrary,  the  right 
to  carry  them  everywhere  was  undoubted.  The  policy 
of  Virginia,  however,  was  manumission ;  and  Mr.  Jeffer 
son,  in  1 784,  prepared  in  the  Congress  of  the  Confedera 
tion  a  clause  preventing  slaves  being  carried  into  the  said 
territories  ceded  to  the  United  States,  north  of  the  Ohio 
River.  This  was  a  part  of  the  Southern  scheme  of 
manumission,  which  was  meant  as  a  check  to  the  trading 
in  Negro  slaves,  carried  on  by  Massachusetts  with  una 
bated  activity.  This  clause  did  not  pass  at  the  time,  but, 
in  1787,  it  was  renewed  by  Nathan  Dane,  in  the  Federal 
Convention.  The  clause  enjoining  the  restitution  of 
fugitive  slaves  was  then  added,  and  it  passed  unanimously. 
By  a  unanimous  vote  it  became  a  vital  part  of  the  Federal 
Constitution,  and  without  it  this  compact  could  never 
have  gone  into  effect.  The  Slave  Trade  carried  on  by 
the  North  became,  also,  the  therne  of  much  sharp  discus 
sion  in  the  Convention.  The  North  was  not  disposed,  of 
course,  to  give  it  up,  but  with  the  South  it  had  become 
an  intolerable  grievance.  They  had  long  and  earnestly 
protested  against  it  when  carried  on  by  the  mother  coun 
try,  but  their  minds  were  now  made  up  to  break  with 
the  North  rather  than  submit  further  to  this  traffic.  The 
North  then  demanded  compensation  for  the  loss  of  this 
very  thriving  trade,  and  the  South  readily  conceded  it 
by  granting  them  the  monopoly  of  the  coasting  and  car 
rying  trade  against  all  foreign  tonnage.  In  this  way  it 
was  settled  that  the  Slave  Trade  should  be  abolished  after 
1808.  Without  this  important  clause,  the  South  would 
never  have  consented  to  enter  into  a  Confederacy  with 
the  North.  The  Federal  Constitution,  with  these  essen 
tial  clauses,  having  passed  into  operation,  it  became, 


30  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

henceforth,  a  certainty  that  the  Slave  Trade  would  finally 
expire  in  the  United  States  at  the  dose  of  1808.  This 
left  it  still  a  duration  of  nineteen  years,  and  the  North 
seemed  determined  to  reap  the  utmost  possible  advantage 
from  the  time  remaining.  The  Duke  de  Rochefoucault- 
Liancourt,  in  his  work  on  the  United  States,  1795,  states, 
that  "  twenty  vessels  from  the  harbors  of  the  North  are 
engaged  in  the  importation  of  slaves  into  Georgia ;  they 
ship  one  Negro  for  every  ton  burden."  Thus  we  see, 
that  while  New  England  was  vigorously  engaged  in  buy 
ing  and  selling  Negro  slaves,  Virginia,  on  the  other  hand, 
was  steadfastly  pursuing  her  theory  of  manumission. 

In  1793,  Congress,  on  the  recommendation  of  Presi 
dent  Washington,  passed  an  act  to  put  in  force  the  clause 
of  the  Constitution  enjoining  the  restoration  of  fugitive 
slaves.  It  seems  evident  they  were  regarded  by  the 
Constitution  in  the  light  of  property  only.  It  likewise 
provided  for  taxing  them,  and  ordained  that  three-fifths 
of  their  number  should  be  a  basis  of  representation. 

This  was,  certainly,  the  view  taken  by  the  framers  of 
the  Constitution,  in  their  intercourse  with  foreign  nations. 
John  Adams,  afterwards  President,  and  Doctor  Franklin 
signed,  1783,  the  Treaty  of  Peace  with  Great  Britain, 
which  contained  provision  for  payment  of  "Slaves  and 
other  Property"  carried  away  during  the  War.  These 
Treaties  were  examined  and  approved  by  the  Govern 
ment,  composed  also  of  the  very  men  who  had  taken  the 
leading  part  in  drafting  the  Constitution.  In  the  Treaty 
of  Peace  at  Ghent,  in  1814,  the  same  clause  recurred, 
and  the  British  Government  paid  a  million  and  a  half  of 
dollars  for  Slaves  that  had  been  carried  off  by  the  enemy. 
The  accounts  of  Hon.  Kichard  Rush,  when  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  contain  the  various  sums  paid  by  the  United 
States  Government  to  the  ''Owners  of  Slaves  and  other 
Property."  Our  Government  has  also  made  frequent 
demands  for  the  payment  of  Slave-property  since  the 
Peace.  Some  twenty  years  since,  the  American  Minister, 
Mr.  Andrew  Stevenson,  conducted  a  negotiation  with 
England  for  the  payment  of  sundry  slaves  that  had  been 
cast  ashore  from  wrecked  American  vessels,  and  set  free 


.  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  31 

by  the  authorities  of  Bermuda.  The  demand  was  finally 
acknowledged,  and  the  sum  of  £23,500  was  paid  as  an 
indemnity.  In  a  word,  the  action  of  the  Federal  Govern 
ment  has  been  uniform  and  consistent  in  asserting  and 
protecting  the  rights  of  our  Slave-owners  against  all 
Foreign  Powers.  The  Bright  to  this  property  has  been 
just  as  positively  recognized  in  our  domestic  relations. 
In  all  the  State  Conventions  held  to  discuss  the  Federal 
Constitution  prior  to  adopting  it,  the  right  of  property  in 
slaves  was  never  contested.  The  law  at  that  time  for 
recovering  that  property  was  of  a  summary  nature.  The 
owner  might  seize  his  property  wherever  he  found  it,  and 
on  making  an  affidavit  before  a  Federal  Judge,  a  warrant 
was  issued  for  the  removal  of  it.  There  was  no  provision 
for  trial  by  jury,  or  for  writ  of  Habeas  Corpus,  which 
would  be  indispensable  if  Black  Slaves  were  considered 
as  persons 

In  1797,  John  Adams,  who  signed  the  Treaty  of  Peace, 
and  was  the  leader  of  the  New  England  or  Federal  Party, 
succeeded  Washington  in  the  Presidential  chair.  At  this 
period,  the  Slavery  question  was  frequently  agitated  by 
the  Democratic  Party  of  the  South,  with  a  view  to  its 
modification.  In  1800,  January  2,  Mr.  Wain,  of  Phila 
delphia,  presented  a  petition  to  Congress,  from  the  free 
Blacks  of  Philadelphia,  praying  for  a  revision  of  the  Fugi 
tive  Slave  Law.  On  this  occasion,  Mr.  Harrison  Gray 
Otis,  a  leader  of  the  Federal  party,  thus  expressed  him 
self:  "  Although  he  possessed  no  slaves  himself,"  he  said, 
"  yet  he  saw  no  reason  why  others  might  not ;  and  that 
their  owners,  and  not  Congress,  were  the  fittest  persons 
to  regulate  that  species  of  property."  Mr.  Brown,  of 
Rhode  Island,  on  the  same  occasion,  declared  "  that  the 
petition  was  not  from  negroes,  but  was  the  contrivance 
of  a  combination  of  Jacobins,  (meaning  the  Democratic 
party,)  wrho  had  troubled  Congress  for  many  years,  and 
lie  feared  would  never  cease  to  do  so.  He  therefore 
moved  that  the  petition  be  taken  away  by  those  who  had 
brought  it  there."  The  motion  being  supported  by 
Messrs.  Gallatin,  Dana,  and  other  Northern  members,  the 
petition  was  withdrawn.  In  this  debate  the  Northern 


32  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  . 

members  who  represented  the  Slave-trading  interests, 
naturally  adhered  to  the  Property  in  Blacks,  although 
the  new  doctrine  of  the  British  Abolitionists  began  to 
make  converts  in  this  country,  outside  of  the  body  of 
Quakers,  who  had  always  opposed  slavery. 

It  may  be  as  well  to  remark  here,  that  it  does  not  ap 
pear  any  laws  were  ever  enacted  in  Great  Britain  au 
thorizing  the  trading  in,  or  possession  of,  Black  Slaves  as 
property.  Nevertheless,  that  they  were  so  regarded,  is 
evident  from  the  opinion  of  the  Eleven  Crown  Judges, 
given  in  pursuance  of  an  Order  in  Council,  and  in  conse 
quence  of  which  the  Navigation  Act  was  extended  to  the 
Slave  Trade,  to  the  exclusion  of  Aliens.  The  laws  by 
which  England  allowed  the  holding  of  slaves,  extended, 
of  course,  to  the  Colonies ;  and  all  those  of  North  America 
held  slaves,  without  any  special  enactments  for  that  pur 
pose.  The  right  was  inherent,  like  that  to  any  property ; 
and  when  the  separation  of  the  Colonies  from  the  mother 
country  took  place,  that  legal  right,  like  the  Common 
Law  of  England,  survived  the  Revolution,  and  remained 
in  force  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 

It  is  claimed  by  the  Anti-slavery  party  that  slavery  ex 
ists  by  local  law  only,  and  cannot  exist  out  of  the  State 
sanctioning  it.  Whereas,  it  is  maintained  by  their  oppo 
nents  that  it  originally  existed  all  over  the  land,  whether 
as  Colonies  or  States,  and  that  it  required  a  special  law 
to  exclude  it.  This  fact  is  beyond  cavil.  It  should  be 
also  recollected  that  the  Spanish  and  French  Colonies, 
that  afterwards  became  a  part  of  the  United  States,  de 
rived  the  right  to  hold  slaves  from  the  head  of  the  Church, 
as  well  as  from  the  State. 

To  return  to  the  record  of  events.  During  Mr.  Jeffer 
son's  lirst  term  of  office,  the  State  of  Virginia  proposed 
to  the  Federal  Government  that  the  proceeds  of  the  public 
lands  that  had  been  ceded  to  it  should  be  appropriated  to 
the  manumission  and  removal  of  slaves,  with  the  sanction 
of  the  respective  States.  This  movement  was  not  suc 
cessful. 

It  is  necessary  to  notice  two  very  important  events  that 
occurred  during  the  administration  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  which 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  33 

wholly  changed  the  destiny  of  Black  Slavery  in  the  Uni 
ted  States.  The  first  was  the  invention  of  the  cotton-gin, 
which  gave  great  additional  value  to  this  staple,  and  hence 
opened  a  broader  field  to  the  employment  of  the  Blacks. 
The  next  was  the  purchase  of  Louisiana,  which  added  new 
and  valuable  territory  to  the  South  and  its  special  pro 
ducts.  These  two  events  revolutionized  completely  the 
value  of  Slave  labor  at  the  South,  and  the  Blacks,  instead 
of  continuing  a  burden,  as  hitherto,  became  henceforward 
a  source  of  profit. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  approaching  termination  of  the 
Slave  Trade,  which  had  profitably  employed  for  so  many 
years  the  commercial  interests  of  New  England,  rendered 
that  section  not  only -indifferent  to  the  prolongation  of 
slavery,  but  even  out  of  chagrin  from  having  been  forced 
by  the  opposition  of  the  South  to  give  it  up,  they  began 
to  nourish  a  species  of  spite  against  it,  and  which  has 
since  manifested  itself  with  uninterrupted  bitterness. 

The  cessation  of  the  Slave  Trade,  and  the  purchase  of 
Louisiana,  both  of  which  were  so  distasteful  to  the  North, 
were  followed,  as  already  stated  by  the  Embargo  Act,  in 
Mr.  Jeffer son's  administration  ;  and  all  this  together,  gave 
nearly  a  quietus  te  the  commercial  interests  of  New  Eng 
land.  The  exasperation  which  followed  these  measures, 
that  seemed  to  threaten  ruin  to  this  section,  led  shortly 
to  a  desire  to  break  up  the  Confederacy.  In  February, 
1809,  the  Governor-General  of  Canada,  Craig,  deputed 
liis  agent,  John  Henry,  to  go  to  Boston  and  treat  with 
the  leading  Federalists  there ;  and  by  the  arrangement, 
then  made,  Massachusetts  was  to  declare  itself  independent, 
and  invite  a  Congress  to  erect  a  separate  Government. 
Mr,  John  Q.  Adams,  Ex-president,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Otis, 
1828,  states  that  the  plan  had  been  so  far  matured,  that 
proposals  had  been  made  to  a  certain  individual  to  put 
himself  at  the  head  of  the  military  organization.  These 
schemes  went  on  until  they  resulted  in  the  Hartford  Con 
vention,  1814,  where  the  subject  of  a  Northern  Confede 
racy,  in  all  its  bearings,  underwent  discussion.  The 
sentiment  of  the  Abolitionists  at  that  time  may  be  seen  in 
the  party  cry  :  "  The  Potomac  for  a  boundary — the  Negro 


34          SCRAPS  FKOM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

States  to  themselves."  This  was  the  favorite  phrase  of 
the  day  all  over  the  Eastern  Stateik  The  peace  with 
Great  Britain  soon  afterwards  occurred,  and  the  stimulus 
this  gave  to  business  of  all  kinds,  together  with  the  con 
ciliatory  conduct,  as  stated  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  of  South 
Carolina,  diverted  New  England  from  her  resolute  menace 
to  break  up  the  Union. 

While  this  irritation  was  still  lingering  in  the  Abolition 
mind,  a  bill  was  introduced  into  Congress,  1818,  to 
authorize  the  people  of  Missouri  to  form  a  Constitution, 
preparatory  to  admission  into  the  Union.  This  territory 
was  a  portion  of  that  same  Louisiana  whose  purchase  had 
been  so  vehemently  resisted  by  New  England.  During 
its  ownership  by  Spain,  and  afterwards  by  France,  slavery 
had  existed  in  the  whole  of  this  territory,  and  it  remained 
undisturbed  after  its  purchase  by  the  United  States ; 
nevertheless  its  admission  into  the  Union  as  a  Slave  State, 
was  violently  opposed  by  the  Eastern  States.  An  ardent 
political  struggle  ensued,  that  threatened  the  safety  of 
the  Confederacy,  but  which  was,  finally  allayed  by  ad 
mitting  Missouri  as  a  Slave  State,  but  on  the  condition 
that  no  more  Slave  States  should  exist  north  of  the  36° 
30'  parallel  of  latitude.  This  is  the  well-known  Missouri 
Compromise.  It  was  at  this  time,  also,  that  the  Slave 
Trade  was  declared  to  be  Piracy,  and  punishable  with 
death. 

Meanwhile,  slavery  had  become  so  manifestly  unprofit 
able  at  the  North,  that  most  of  these  States  abolishedjt. 
New  York  did  so  in  1826,  and  many  other  States,  even 
Delaware,  Maryland  and  Virginia,  were  moving  in  the 
same  direction.  New  Jersey,  Ohio  and  Delaware,  passed 
resolutions  desiring  Congress  to  appropriate  the  proceeds 
of  the  Public,  Lands  to  the  manumission  of  slaves,  with 
the  consent  of  the  Slave  States.  In  1825,  Eufus  King, 
of  New  York,  made  the  same  proposition  in  Congress, 
where  it  had  been  originally  introduced  by  Virginia.  At 
this  period,  in  the  Southern  States  the  utmost  favor  was 
extended  to  Emancipation.  Societies  for  this  purpose 
were  formed  to  co-operate  with  the  Colonization  Society, 
then  in  full  vigor,  and  whose  object  was  to  free  Blacks 


SCRAPS  FKOM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  35 

and  transport  them  to  Liberia.  In  March,  1825,  Vir 
ginia  passed  an  act  to  furnish  the  Colonists  in  Liberia, 
under  the  direction  of  the  "  Richmond  and  Manchester 
(England)  Colonization  Society,"  with  implements  of 
husbandry,  clothing,  etc.  The  emancipation  of  Blacks  to 
be  sent  to  Liberia,  were  frequent  all  over  the  Southern 
States,  and  on  a  liberal  scale.  Alabama,  Louisiana  and 
Missouri,  passed  laws  prohibiting  slaves  to  be  brought 
within  their  borders  for  sale,  and  further  enacting  that 
those  brought  in  by  settlers  should  not  be  sold  under  two 
years. 

The  sentiment  of  Emancipation  was  making  steady 
progress  ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  a  decided  repugnance  to 
free  Blacks  began  to  manifest  itself.  Ohio,  Illinois,  and 
other  Northwestern  States,  forbade  by  law  free  Blacks 
coming  into  the  State,  under  any  pretence  ;  and  a  white 
person  who  brought  one  in,  was  required  to  give  bonds 
in  $500.  They  were  not  regarded  as  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  and  from  their  idle  habits,  were  considered 
as  a  nuisance  everywhere.  The  Southern  States  also 
enacted  that  free  Blacks  arriving  there  as  seamen,  should 
be  under  surveillance  while  in  port.  In  consequence  of 
this  general  antipathy  to  free  Blacks,  and  in  view  of  the 
difficulty  of  deporting  them,  Mr.  Tucker,  of  Virginia, 
proposed  in  Congress,  1825,  to  set  off  the  territory  west 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains  as  a  Colony  for  free  Blacks.  This 
effort  failed ;  but  all  the  leading  statesmen  of  the  South, 
Mr.  Mangum,  Mr.  McDuffie,  etc.,  urged  the  adoption  of 
some  scheme  of  emancipation. 

About  this  time,  a  new  movement  was  initiated  in  New 
England.  The  doctrine  of  Abolition  was  then  at  the 
zenith  of  its  popularity  in  England,  where  it  was  already 
proposed  to  transplant  it  to  our  Southern  States,  which 
would  then  be  converted  into  a  great  free  Black  cotton- 
growing  country.  This  utterly  impracticable  idea  was 
seized  upon  by  various  individuals  of  the  New  England 
States,  who  forthwith  began  to  sow  the  seeds  of  agitation. 
It  is  impossible  to  attribute  to  them  any  very  philanthropic 
motive  ;  for  only  twenty  years  had  elapsed  since  Massa 
chusetts  had  been  forced  to  give  up  her  slave-trading,  and 


36  SCEAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

and  it  is  not  at  all  credible  that  the  tastes  thus  acquired 
should,  in  so  short  a  time,  have  been  supplanted  by  so 
ardent  a  love  for  the  Negro  of  the  South  as  to  desire  his 
manumission  at  the  risk  of  breaking  up  the  Confederacy. 
No  ;  it  really  looked  more  like  the  renewed  expression 
of  that  old  grudge  which  the  Eastern  States  have  for  so 
many  years  nourished  against  the  South. 

In  1828,  a  Mr.  Arthur  Tappan  subscribed,  with  the 
aid  of  friends  in  Boston,  sufficient  funds  to  establish  a 
newspaper  in  New  York,  called  the  "Journal  of  Com 
merce,"  whose  object  was  to  promote  the  borrowed 
English  theory  of  Abolition.  Its  editor  was  a  certain 
David  Hale,  an  auctioneer  of  Boston,  and  a  teacher  in  the 
Presbyterian  Sunday-school  there.  At  the  same  juncture, 
the  Baltimore  "  Genius  of  Emancipation "  fell  into  the 
hands  of  another  Abolitionist,  named  W.  Lloyd  Garrison. 
This  individual  was  the  grandson  of  what  was  known  as 
a  "Tory"  during  our  Revolutionary  War,  and  who,  at 
the  Peace,  was  compelled  to  fly  the  country  to  Nova 
Scotia,  whence  his  widowed  daughter  and  her  only  son 
returned,  some  years  after,  to  Boston,  to  seek  a  livelihood. 
The  young  Garrison  readily  caught  up  the  doctrine  01 
Abolition,  as  most  congenial  to  his  English  antecedents 
and  education,  and  set  to  work  with  baleful  energy  to 
urge  its  propagation,  fraught  with  so  many  dangers  to 
the  country  of  his  adoption.  On  assuming  the  editorship 
of  the  Baltimore  paper,  he  instantly  assailed  both  Coloni 
zation  and  Emancipation  as  only  obstructions  to  Abolition, 
and  openly  avowed  that  the  Union  of  the  States  was 
equally  an  obstacle  to  Abolition.  By  some  it  was  sup 
posed  that  this  treasonable  denunciation  of  the  Union 
was  out  of  deference  to  the  memory  of  his  Tory  grand 
father,  who  had  done  all  he  could  to  prevent  it. 

In  the  year  1830,  the  same  Garrison  founded  a  new 
journal  in  Boston,  called  "The  Liberator,"  whence  he 
propounded  his  extreme  views  in  the  most  extravagant 
language.  In  the  following  year,  the  "New  England 
Anti-slavery  Society"  was  formed.  This  was  followed 
in  due  course  by  the  "American  Anti-slavery  Society," 
under  the  leadership  of  Messrs.  Garrison,  Tappan,  and 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  37 

Birney.  The  Sunday-schools  of  the  Eastern  States  be 
came  active  coadjutors  in  the  same  cause.  These  socie 
ties  adopted  precisely  the  same  tactics  as  their  British 
prototypes.  They  circulated  tracts  and  books,  full  of 
inflammatory  appeals.  Highly-colored  engravings  too, 
representing  the  Black  undergoing  every  kind  of  torture, 
were  distributed  for  those  who  who  could  not  read. 
These  were  meant  more  especially  to  excite  the  Blacks 
at  the  South,  and  were  sent  through  the  mails.  These 
proceedings  were  considered,  at  the  time,  so  dangerous 
to  the  peace  of  the  community  and  to  the  integrity  of  the 
Union,  that  popular  indignation  frequently  broke  out  into 
riot.  In  New  York,  in  1832,  the  dwelling  of  Arthur 
Tappan  and  the  church  of  Dr.  Cox  were  both  demolished 
by  a  mob.  Many  influential  citizens  sanctioned  these 
violent  demonstrations  of  public  feeling,  and  the  well- 
known  editor  of  the  "Courier  and  Enquirer,"  Mr. 
James  Watson  Webb,  boasted  of  his  share  in  this  vindi 
cation  of  Southern  rights. 

The  Abolitionists  of  Boston,  meanwhile,  continued 
their  operations  with  all  the  ardor  of  their  puritanical 
descent.  Garrison  was  sent  to  England,  to  obtain  funds, 
by  the  Anti-slavery  Societies ;  and  in  1834  he  returned 
home  with  Mr.  George  Thompson,  a  Member  of  Parlia 
ment  at  that  time,  and  an  Abolition  lecturer.  This  led 
to  so  violent  an  outcry,  that  Thompson,  alarmed  for  his 
safety,  went  back  to  England.  A  new  mode  of  excite 
ment  was  then  devised  by  the  Abolitionists,  who  got  up 
a  clamor  against  South  Carolina  for  detaining  free  Blacks 
who  came  into  her  ports.  Massachusetts  claimed  that 
free  Blacks  were  her  citizens,  and  that  as  such  they  had 
a  right  to  go  to  South  Carolina;  but  as  she  made  no 
complaint  against  Ohio,  Illinois,  and  other  States  who 
also  excluded  free  Blacks,  it  was  evident  that  she  sought 
a  quarrel  with  South  Carolina,  for  the  very  purpose  of 
spreading  the  Abolition  infection. 

A  Mr.  Hoar  was  sent  by  Massachusetts  as  an  agent  to 
Charleston  to  make  a  formal  complaint  of  her  alleged, 
grievance,  and,  as  was  anticipated,  Mr.  Hoar  was  sum 
marily  dismissed.  Upon  this  the  Abolitionists  professed 


38  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

great  indignation,  and  the  Legislature  was  appealed  to 
for  a  measure  of  retaliation,  which  was  soon  got  up  under 
the  title  of  a  ' '  Personal  Liberty  Bill,  which  was  desig 
nated,  under  a  transparent  plea,  to  obstruct  the  restora 
tion  of  fugitive  Blacks. 

Up  to  this  time,  Abolition  had  been  discussed  merely 
as  a  moral  question,  but  the  agitation  had  gained  such 
strength  among  its  unsuspecting  converts,  that  it  was 
thought  high  time  by  its  designing  leaders  to  carry 
it  into  the  political  arena,  where  they  anticipated  making 
it  a  stepping-stone  to  power  and  emolument. 

It  will  be  seen  in  the  sequel  that  these  ingenious 
schemers  were  doomed  to  disappointment,  and  that  the 
spolia  optima  of  the  agitation  they  began  were  destined 
to  be  gathered  by  the  hand  of  the  professional  politician, 
leaving  but  a  " barren  sceptre  in  their  gripe." 

In  1838,  the  Abolition  party  was  too  weak  and  too 
ignorant  of  political  strategy  to  dare  to  take  the  field  in 
person,  therefore,  they  began  coquetting  with  the  promi 
nent  politicians  of  the  day.  Mr.  Marcy  and  Mr.  Seward 
were,  at  that  time,  the  candidates  of  the  two  rival  parties 
for  Governor  of  the  State  of  New  York,  and  perhaps  the 
two  most  influential  men  of  the  North.  The  occasion  was 
thought  opportune  by  Messrs.  Smith  and  Jay,  the  New 
York  sponsors  for  the  untoward  bantling  of  Abolition,  to 
put  these  gentlemen  to  the  test.  It  happened  that  there 
existed  a  statute  in  New  York,  called  the  "  Sojournment 
Law,"  which  allowed  a  slaveholder  to  bring  his  Black 
servants  with  him,  and  remain  there  nine  months,  with 
out  prejudice  to  his  rights ;  for  it  had  been  decided  in  the 
Federal  Courts  that  a  slave  taken  voluntarily  into  a  Free 
State,  could  not  be  recovered.  When  Mr.  Seward  was 
interrogated  in  relation  to  this  law,  he  sustained  it  as  "  a 
becoming  act  of  hospitality  to  Southern  visitors."  Mr. 
Marcy  made  no  reply.  Mr.  Seward,  however,  changed 
his  views  afterwards  on  this  subject,  and  refused,  in  1840, 
while  Governor,  to  restore  a  fugitive  slave,  on  the 
requisition  of  Virginia. 

The  evil  results  of  this  sectional  issue  were  foreseen  by 
many  States;  and  among  others  Ohio,  in  1840,  passed 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  39 

resolutions  in  her  Legislature  to  the  effect  that  "  Slavery 
was  an  institution  recognized  by  the  Constitution,"  and 
that  "  the  unlawful,  unwise,  and  unconstitutional  inter 
ference  of  the  fanatical  Abolitionists  of  the  North  with 
the  institutions  of  the  South,  were  highly  criminal." 
The  violent  proceedings  of  the  Northern  Abolitionists  did 
not  escape  the  attention  of  the  South,  where  they  created 
not  only  alarm,  but  aroused  a  deep  and  natural  feeling 
of  indignation.  The  change  of  sentiment  that  had 
occurred  may  be  seen  in  an  act  of  the  State  of  Alabama, 
to  the  effect  that  "  all  free  Blacks  remaining  in  the  State 
after  August  1,  1840,  should  be  enslaved. 

At  the  very  close  of  1839,  a  handful  of  Abolitionists 
met  in  Warsaw,  N.  Y. ,  and  decided  formerly  to  transform 
their  doctrine  from  a  moral  into  a  political  question ;  and 
they  set  to  work  at  once,  on  a  political  organization. 
Determined  to  escew  any  affiliation  with  tjie  parties  of  the 
day,  they  selected  one  of  their  own  band,  Mr.  Birney,  as 
a  candidate  for  the  Presidency  of  the  United  States.  It 
was  now  evident  to  all  dispassionate  observers,  that  the 
motives  of  the  founders  of  Abolition  were  not  so  much 
the  emancipation  of  the  Blacks,  as  their  own  elevation  to 
place  and  power.  It  is  clear  enough  the  North  regarded 
them  with  just  suspicion  at  that  day,  for  in  the  Federal 
election  of  1840,  Birney  received  but  7,000  votes. 

The  agitation  of  the  Slavery  question  received  a  new 
stimulus  at  this  peiiod,  from  the  discussion  awakened  by 
the  revolt  of  Texas.  This  fine  country  had  once  formed 
part  of  Louisiana,  but  was  ceded  by  France  to  Spain, 
and  then  became  a  part  of  Mexico.  In  1836,  an  insur 
rection,  headed  by  Americans,  broke  out,  and  was  soon 
followed  by  the  independence  of  Texas.  Speculations 
now  ran  high  in  the  price  of  her  lands,  and  the  project 
was  broached  of  re-annexing  her  to  the  United  States. 
The  celebrated  Daniel  Webster,  among  others,  favored 
this  scheme;  but  he  was  afterwards  induced  to  change  his 
views  and  oppose  it.  Just  as  in  the  case  of  Louisiana,  in 
1805,  the  New  England  States  resisted  the  Annexation 
of  Texas,  during  the  Presidency  of  Mr.  Tyler,  on  the 
same  pretext  of  extending  slavery,  but  on  the  real  ground 


40          SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

of  jealousy  of  the  South.  The  leading  politicians  of  the 
day  were  sorely  embarrassed  whether  to  support  Annexa 
tion  or  not;  and  by  opposing  it,  Mr.  t)lay  lost  his  election 
in  1844;  and  for  the  same  reason,  Mr.  Van  Buren  failed 
to  obtain  his  renomination  by  the  Democratic  party. 
The  difficulty  was  terminated  by  the  admission  of  Texas, 
March  3,  1845,  but  on  the  agreement  that  four  States 
should  be  formed  out  of  the  territory,  besides  ths  one 
existing,  and  that  the  States  so  formed  south  of  the  line 
36°  30'  should  be  admitted  with  or  without  slavery,  as 
their  inhabitants  should  decide,  but  that  slavery  should 
not  exist  north  of  that  line. 

A  temporary  lull  followed;  but  the  Slavery  question 
was  soon  again  evoked,  to  gratify  a  political  grudge. 
The  rejection  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  as  the  Democratic  can 
didate  in  1844,  by  Southern  influence,  in  consequence  of 
his  opposition  to  Texas,  led  him,  from  motives  of  irrita 
tion,  to  raise  up  a  new  party  in  New  York,  on  the  cry  of 
"Free  Soil,  or  no  more  Slave  States."  This  act  was  a 
violation  of  the  agreement  made  with  the  South  on  the 
admission  of  Texas,  and  was  frowned  upon  by  the  Demo 
cratic  party ;  but  the  issue  started  by  Mr.  Van  Buren  was 
successful  enough  to  divide  the  party  in  the  State  of  New 
York,  and  to  give  the  election  to  the  Northern  party. 
This  incensed  and  alarmed  the  South,  who  were  at  last 
pacified  by  the  Compromise  Measures  of  1850,  which, 
however,  were  stoutly  opposed  by  Mr.  W.  H.  Seward, 
who  had  become  already  the  chosen  and  wily  representa 
tive  of  the  Anti-slavery  sentiments  of  the  North. 

One  of  the  prominent  measures  of  the  Compromise  of 
1850,  was  the  new  Fugitive  Slave  Law,  which  Daniel 
Webster  declared  to  be  far  more  favorable  to  the  Blacks 
than  that  recommended  by  Washington,  in  1787.  Yet 
it  was  seized  upon  by  the  cunning  of  the  Anti-slavery 
politicians  to  keep  up  the  subsiding  agitation,  and  several 
of  the  Legislatures  of  the  Northern  States  were  induced 
to  pass  "  Personal  Liberty  Bills,"  in  imitation  of  the  ex 
ample  set  by  Massachusetts. 

In  1852,  the  Abolitionists  dropped  Mr.  Birney,  and 
selected  for  their  Presidential  candidate  Mr.  Hale,  of  New 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  41 

Hampshire.  He  received  157,000  votes,  against  the  7,000 
thrown  for  Birney,  in  1840. 

Among  other  ingenious  modes  of  excitement,  a  discus 
sion  was  regularly  kept  alive  at  the  North  as  to  the 
citizenship  of  free  Blacks.  Several  States  bestowed  the 
suffrage  upon  them,  as  a  practical  proof  of  their  right  to 
rank  as  citizens.  This  controversy  was  rather  inflamed 
than  otherwise,  by  a  decision  of  the  Federal  Supreme 
Court,  in  the  Dred  Scott  case,  1853,  which  settled  that 
no  Blacks  are  citizens  of  the  United  States.  In  1854, 
the  Slavery  question  re-appeared  in  Congress,  and  the 
action  of  the  North  on  this  occasion  was  pregnant  with 
serious  consequences.  Two  new  territories  of  the  West 
were  pronounced  sufficiently  occupied  to  render  legislation 
necessary,  and  a  bill  to  create  a  territorial  government  in 
Kansas  and  Nebraska,  was  reported  by  Mr.  Douglas,  of 
Illinois.  His  bill  contained  a  clause  to  repeal  the  famous 
Missouri  line  of  36°  30',  running  south  of  the  territories 
in  question.  This  line  was  the  basis  of  compromise  in 
1820,  and  was  again  a  means  of  adjusting  the  dispute  that 
arose  on  the  admission  of  Texas,  in  1845.  The  constitu 
tionality  of  this  line  was,  however,  more  than  doubtful, 
for  the  reason  that  Congress  never  had  any  power  con 
ferred  on  it  by  the  Constitution  to  legislate  on  slavery; 
nor  was  it  at  all  necessary,  since  individual  States  could 
retain  or  exclude  slavery,  according  to  their  pleasure. 
Besides,  the  line  in  question  was  really  a  nullity,  because 
slavery  was  so  unprofitable  to  the  north  of  it  that  it  would 
never  be  carried  there.  It  was  only  to  the  south  of  this 
line  that  the  cotton  culture  made  slavery  a  profit  and  a 
necessity,  Hence  the  South  made  no  objection  to  its 
repeal,  in  1854  ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  perceive  what  motive 
Mr.  Douglas  could  have  had  in  proposing  this  repeal, 
unless  it  was  merely  to  fan  the  glowing  embers  of  the 
Slavery  question. 

No  sooner  was  this  Missouri  line  revoked,  than  a  prompt 
and  significant  movement  wras  made  in  the  New  England 
States.  Emigrant  Aid  Societies  were  formed,  as  already 
mentioned;  and  settlers  for  Kansas,  one  of  the  terri 
tories  just  organized,  were  lustily  summoned  as  recruits 
4 


42  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

in  the  new  crusade  against  slavery,  and  funds  in  the  way 
of  bounty  were  liberally  distributed.  •  This  unusual  means 
to  stimulate  emigration  was  designed  to  secure  Kansas  as 
a  Free  State,  by  obtaining  a  majority  for  the  Northern 
people.  Such  an  attempt,  made  with  demonstrations  of 
vehement  hostility  to  the  South,  was  sure  to  provoke 
anger  and  resistance.  This,  of  course,  was  calculated 
upon  by  the  Anti-slavery  propaganda,  and  they  were  not 
disappointed.  The  Slave  State  of  Missouri,  directly  ad 
joining  Kansas,  was  not  disposed  to  be  forestalled,  and, 
as  it  were,  forced  out  of  their  legal  share  to  territory  in 
such  close  proximity ;  so  they  did  their  best  to  encourage 
emigration  too,  but  the  slaveholders  were  naturally  chary 
to  carry  their  Blacks  with  them,  as  they  were  sure  to  be 
tempted  away.  As  a  matter  of  course,  it  was  impossible 
for  the  people  of  the  two  opposite  sections,  in  their 
intemperate  state  of  mind,  to  live  long  in  peace  together. 
Collisions  occurred,  and  occasional  loss  of  life  ensued. 
The  Abolitionists  were  eagerly  waiting  for  some  such 
news  as  this,  for  it  was  rightly  anticipated  that  a  conflict, 
sooner  or  later,  was  inevitable. 

When  the  looked-for  intelligence  at  last  arrived,  a  wild 
and  furious  shriek  for  "bleeding  Kansas"  vibrated  in  a 
thousand  echoes  through  all  the  valleys  of  New  England. 
The  organs  of  the  Abolitionists  teemed  with  the  most 
discordant  appeals  to  the  passions  of  the  people,  and 
nothing  but  imprecations  of  the  most  startling  description 
were  launched  against  the  "  Border  Ruffians,"  as  the 
settlers  from  Missouri  were  forthwith  christened.  Public 
meetings  were  called  in  the  Eastern  States,  and  the  pulpit 
soon  became  a  rostrum  for  clerical  agitators.  Subscrip 
tions  were  rapidly  set  on  foot  to  buy  arms  and  ammunition 
for  the  sacred  defenders  of  anti-slavery  in  Kansas,  whose 
brows  were  encircled  with  the  halo  of  martyrdom. 
Speculators  in  if  Sharp's  rifles"  joined  in  the  well-sus 
tained  chorus  of  the  Abolitionists,  and  a  considerable 
profit  was  the  result.  At  a  public  meeting  in  New  Haven, 
a  well-known  Abolitionist,  Rev.  H.  Ward  Beecher,  of 
Brooklyn,  and  brother  of  the  authoress  of  "  Uncle  Tom's 
Cabin,"  aided  by  his  presence  and  language  to  swell  the 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  43 

clamor  fast  rising  in  the  North.  He  desired  his  name  to 
be  subscribed  for  "  twenty-five  Sharpe's  rifles,"  and  an 
nounced  he  would  collect  the  money  to  pay  for  them,  in 
his  church,  the  following  Sabbath,  which  was  done. 

Such  ingenious  modes  as  these,  and  so  skilfully  handled, 
could  not  fail  to  excite  the  sympathies  and  stir  the  pas 
sions  of  any  community.  Ever  since  1828,  the  Abolition 
party  had  been  laboriously  engaged  in  sapping  the  mind 
of  the  North  on  the  subject  of  Black  Slavery;  nor  must 
it  be  forgotten  that  they  appealed  to  something  more 
than  its  philanthropy,  when  they  raised  the  cry  of  "  No 
more  Slave  Territory,"  which  simply  meant  that  all  that 
vast  extent  of  country  stretching  from  the  Mississippi  to 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  should  be  given  up  to  Northern 
emigration.  It  was  natural,  certainly,  that  so  palatable 
a  doctrine  should  be  acceptable  at  the  North  ;  but  just  as 
natural  that  it  should  be  unwelcome  at  the  South,  whose 
equal  claims  were  so  uncerimoniously  ignored. 

The  now-ealled  Republican  party  met  in  convention  in 
Philadelphia,  June,  1856,  and  made,  for  the  first  time,  a 
sectional  issue  the  basis  of  party  action.  They  selected 
for  their  Presidential  candidate  Mr.  John  C.  Fremont, 
known  in  the  country  as  an  officer  of  the  army,  but  with 
out  any  political  antecedents.  It  was  thought  judicious 
not  to  nominate  a  politician  too  closely  identified  with 
the  anti-slavery  movement,  lest  the  possible  consequences 
might  alarm  the  "sober  second  thought"  of  the  North. 
Thus  accoutred,  the  Republican  party  went  to  the  polls, 
November,  1856,  and  brought  off  a  vote  of  1,334,553. 
They  were  defeated  by  the  Democratic  party,  which  was 
now  the  only  link  between  North  and  South ;  but  the 
Republican  leaders  felt  quite  sanguine  that,  with  the  tac 
tics  their  experience  would  suggest,  they  would  carry  off 
the  Presidential  prize  in  1860.  It  was  thus  that  the 
moral  question  as  to  the  sin  of  slavery,  borrowed  from 
England  by  our  Abolitionists,  and  kept  alive  by  their 
address  till  the  North  was  thoroughly  infected  by  it,  was, 
at  last,  converted  into  a  party  question  and  made  a  party 
issue. 

In  October,  1859,  an  event  occurred  which  amazed  the 


44  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

whole  country.  We  allude  to  the  invasion  of  the  State 
of  Virginia,  by  John  Brown  and  4iis  retinue  of  men. 
This  man  Brown  had  figured  in  "bleeding  Kansas"  as  a 
daring  ring-leader  of  the  anti-slavery  bands  that  had  con 
tended  for  the  mastery  there.  When  these  bloody  con 
tests  subsided,  he  was  reduced  to  inaction ;  and  he  chafed 
at  the  loss  of  the  stern  excitement  congenial  to  his  fierce 
nature.  Whether  it  was  fanaticism  or  ambition  that 
inspired  him,  no  one  can  say  ;  but  he  conceived  the  hor 
rible  project  of  setting  on  foot  a  servile  insurrection. 
Followed  by  a  handful  of  desperate  men,  he  suddenly 
entered  the  State  of  Virginia,  seized  the  arsenal  of  the 
Federal  Government,  to  obtain  the  arms  he  needed,  and 
raised  the  cry  of  "  Freedom  to  Slaves."  To  his  astonish 
ment,  no  doubt,  the  affrighted  blacks  ran  to  their  masters 
for  protection,  and  some  were  shot  in  seeking  to  escape. 
This  nefarious  attempt  was  quelled  by  the  arrest  of 
Brown  and  his  confederates,  and  their  subsequent  trial  and 
execution. 

One  thing  was  proved  by  the  utter  failure  of  this  daring 
outrage,  for  it  showed  that  the  blacks  were  contented 
with  their  homes,  and  desired  not  the  emancipation  of  the 
sword.  Another  thing,  if  not  quite  so  clear,  at  least 
looked  ominous.  This  madman,  Brown,  had  been  known 
as  an  efficient  instrument  in  the  hands  of  the  anti-slavery 
party  of  New  England ;  and  it  was,  therefore,  a  matter 
of  conjecture  at  the  South  how  far  he  was  incited  to  this 
fearful  attempt  against  their  very  existence.  Had  they 
not  some  reason  to  think  the  act  met  the  approval  of  the 
Abolitionists  of  the  North,  when  300  bells  tolled  for  the 
fate  of  Brown,  and  when  the  organs  of  the  party  honored 
his  memory,  while  affecting  to  disapprove  his  conduct  ? 

This  event  sank  deep  into  the  mind  and  heart  of  the 
Southern  States.  They  were  led  to  believe,  for  the  first 
time,  that  the  ultra  wing  of  the  Republican  party  contem 
plated  the  confiscation  of  their  property  and  the  destruc 
tion  of  their  lives. 

Another  incident  occurred  in  the  summer  of  1860, 
which  deepened  their  conviction  that  the  Northern  States 
had  entered  into  a  dark  conspiracy  to  desolate  their  land 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  45 

with  fire  and  sword.  It  was  discovered  that  a  book, 
called  the  "  Impending  Crisis,"  was  being  secretly  circu 
lated  all  over  the  North  as  a  "  campaign  document." 
The  purport  of  this  volume  was  to  show,  by  assertion,  as 
well  as  by  figures,  that  the  free  labor  of  the  North  was 
more  profitable  than  the  black  labor  of  the  South.  The 
tone  of  the  book  was  violent  in  the  extreme.  We  will 
add  a  few  extracts,  which  will  enable  the  reader  to  form 
a  correct  opinion  of  the  character  and  object  of  the  work  : 

' 4  Slavery  is  a  great  moral,   social,   civil,   and  political 
evil,  to  be  got  rid  of  at  the  earliest  practical  period. "- 
(page  168.) 

"  Three-quarters  of  a  century  hence,  if  the  South  re 
tains  slavery,  which  God  forbid  !  she  will  be  to  the  North 
what  Poland  is  to  Russia,  Cuba  to  Spain,  and  Ireland  to 
England."— (p.  162.) 

"On  our  banner  is  inscribed — No  Co-operation  with 
Slaveholders  in  Politics;  110  Fellowship  with  them  in 
Religion ;  no  Affiliation  with  them  in  Society.  No  Re 
cognition  of  Pro-slavery  men,  except  as  Ruffians,  Outlaws, 
and  Criminals" — (p.  156.) 

"  We  believe  it  is,  as  it  ought  to  be,  the  desire,  the 
determination,  and  the  destiny  of  the  Republican  party  to 
give  the  death-blow  to  slavery." — (p.  234.) 

"In  any  event,  come  what  will,  transpire  what  may, 
the  institution  of  slavery  must  be  abolished." — (p.  180.) 

'•  We  are  determined  to  abolish  slavery  at  all  hazards 
— in  defiance  of  all  the  opposition,  of  whatever  nature,  it 
is  possible  for  the  Slavocrats  to  bring  against  us.  Of  this 
they  may  take  due  notice,  and  govern  themselves  accord- 
ingiy."— (p.  149.) 

"  It  is  our  honest  conviction  that  all  the  Pro-slavery 
Slaveholders  deserve  to  be  at  once  reduced  to  a  parallel 
with  the  basest  criminals  that  lie  fettered  within  the  cells 
of  our  public  prisons." — (p.  158.) 

"Shall  we  pat  the  bloodhounds  of  slavery?  Shall  we 
fee  the  curs  of  slavery?  Shall  wre  pay  the  whelps  of 
slavery?  No,  never."— (p.  329.) 

"Our  purpose  is  as  firmly  fixed  as  the  eternal  pillars  of 


46  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

heaven;  we  have  determined  to  abolish  slavery,  and,  so 
help  us  God!  abolish  it  we  will."— (p.  187.) 

The  volume  containing  the  above  quotations,  not  by 
any  means  the  most  bitter,  was  endorsed  by  68  members 
of  Congress  of  the  Republican  party,  whose  names  were 
given  for  publication.  The  South,  under  manifestations 
like  these,  felt  they  had  a  right  to  infer  that,  if  a  party 
making  such  declarations  of  hostility  were  elected  to 
power  by  the  North,  they  must  either  consent  to  the 
early  abolition  of  Black  Slavery,  or  retain  it  by  seceding 
from  the  Union. 

When  the  British  Government  emancipated  the  Blacks 
in  her  colonies,  she  acted  with  the  strictest  commercial 
equity;  but  the  book  in  question  repudiates  any  compen 
sation  to  the  "curs  and  whelps  of  slavery."  One  more 
extract: 

"The  black  god  of  slavery,  which  the  South  has 
worshipped  for  237  years." — (p.  163.) 

Now,  the  writer  is  ignorant  that  the  South  protested 
for  years,  first,  against  the  mother  country,  and,  next, 
against  New  England,  importing  slaves  within  her 
borders.  However,  the  object  of  the  book  was  to  in 
flame  the  mind  of  the  North  against  the  South,  and 
therefore  falsehood  was  as  good  as  truth. 

In  April.  1860,  the  Delegates  of  the  Democratic  party 
met  in  convention  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  to  make 
their  nomination  for  the  Presidency.  The  Northern 
wing  of  the  party  proposed  Senator  Douglas  as  the  most 
eligible  candidate  at  the  North,  from  his  doctrine  of 
4 'Popular  Sovereignty."  The  Southern  wing  objected, 
as  they  considered  said  doctrine  only  a  concession  to  the 
Anti-slavery  dogma.  Mr.  Douglas  did  not  withdraw  his 
name,  and  a  rupture  of  the  party  ensued.  The  Northern 
delegates  nominated  Mr.  Douglas,  in  Baltimore,  June 
18  ;  and  on  the  same  occasion,  the  Southern  delegates 
nominated  Vice-President  Breckinridge. 

This  schism  doubled  the  chances  of  the  Republican 
party,  which  met  in  convention  to  select  their  candidate 
at  Chicago,  Illinois.  May,  1860.  It  was  generally  sup 
posed  that  Mr.  W.  H.  Seward,  the  acknowledged  leader 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  47 

of  the  Anti-slavery  party  at  the  North,  an  able  and  wily 
statesman,  would  be  its  chosen  companion  in  the  electoral 
lists  about  to  open ;  but,  to  the  surprise  of  all,  an  almost 
unknown  politician  of  the  West,  Mr.  Abraham  Lincoln, 
was  selected  as  its  standard-bearer. 

On  the  6th  of  Novenber,  1860,  the  long  agitation  on 
the  slavery  question,  that  began  in  1803,  ended  with  the 
election  to  the  Presidency  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  rep 
resentative  of  the  Republican  party,  but  which  contained 
within  its  bowels,  like  the  Trojan  horse  of  old,  the  armed 
men  of  the  Abolition  party.  Shortly  after  this  event, 
Governor  Andrew,  of  Massachusetts,  declared  at  a  pub 
lic  meeting,  that  "the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln  was  only 
the  first  step  towards  forcible  emancipation." 

The  whole  territory  of  the  States,   North  and  South, 

was    originally    elaveholding English,    Spanish,     and 

French.  Not  for  any  local  law,  bat  from  the  laws  of  the 
mother  country. 

Slaves  were  regarded  only  as  property  in  all  the 
thirteen  States  that  formed  the  Union ;  since  it  would 
have  been  a  manifest  absurdity  for  the  Slaveholders  who 
made  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  to  declare  "  all 
men  were  born  free  and  equal,"  had  they  not  con- 
idered  the  slaves  as  property. 

In  forming  the  Union,  the  thirteen  Slave  States  con 
ferred  upon  the  Federal  Government  the  power  to  tax 
slave  property ;  to  protect  it  trom  foreigners,  as  well  on 
the  national  territories'  as  at  sea,  and  also  from  domestic 
escape  ;  and  conferred  no  other  power,  either  to  prohibit 
or  to  extend  it. 

The  Abolitionists  North  clung  to  the  profits  of  the  Slave 
Trade  as  long  as  possible,  and  attacked  the  slave  system 
when  they  were  deprived  of  those  profits. 

The  territory  that  was  once  all  slave,  has  become  free  ; 
1st,  by  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  prohibiting  slaves  north  of 
the  Ohio  ;  2d,  by  eight  Northern  States  abolishing  slavery 
in  their  borders ;  3d,  by  the  Missouri  Compromise  of 
1820,  prohibiting  slaves  north  of  36°  30' ;  4th,  the  act 
admitting  Texas  re-enacting  that  line.  Thus  the  North 
has  driven  slaves  out  of  half  the  Territories  of  the  United 


48  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

States,  showing  a  constant  and  large  aggressions  upon  the 
South. 

The  duty  of  the  Government  is  undoubtedly  to  protect 
the  property  upon  the  Territories,  until  people  there 
settled  form  their  own  laws. 

The  agitation  of  the  slave  question  grew  originally  out 
of  the  chagrin  of  New  England,  at  being  deprived  of  the 
Slave  Trade  and  its  profits.  It  was  prolonged  by  the 
mutual  irritation  that  the  opposition  of  Massachusetts  to 
the  purchase  of  Louisiana  occasioned. 

Emancipation  made  steady  progress  in  all  the  States, 
until  Abolition  forced  the  Slaveholders  upon  the  defensive. 

Abolition  made  little  progress,  until  unscrupulous  par 
tisans  coquetted  with  it  for  party  issues. 

The  question  of  the  power  of  the  Government  to  exclude 
slavery  from  the  Territories,  has  been  blended  with  the 
moral  question  as  to  the  "  sin  of  slavery." 

The  cry  of  "  Free  Soil"  was  raised  in  1848,  by  Mr. 
Van  Buren,  to  avenge  his  non-nomination  by  the  South, 
at  Baltimore. 

The  compromise  measures  of  1850,  were  carried  by  the 
influence  of  Henry  Clay. 

Violation  of  these  compromises,  by  the  "Personal 
Liberty  Bills"  of  the  Northern  States,  soon  followed. 

Repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  in  1854. 

Attempt,  by  the  Abolition  party,  to  make  Kansas  a 
Free  State  by  force,  which  was  resisted  by  the  South. 

Rise  of  Republican  party,  under'the  lead  of  Mr.  W.  H. 
Seward,  and  its  defeat  in  1856. 

Violent  agitation  of  the  slavery  question  at  the  North, 
followed  by  the  invasion  of  Virginia  by  John  Brown,  in 
1859,  and  the  circulation  of  the  Helper  Book,  in  1860. 

The  theory  of  a  "  Higher  Law"  at  the  North,  to  justify 
resistance  to  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  Congress,  -has 
begotten  the  Higher  Law  of  Self-preservation  at  the  South, 
to  justify  resistance  to  a  dominant  party,  which  embraces 
the  "  sin  of  slavery"  among  its  tenets. 

The  Southern  States  have  been  for  nearly  sixty  years 
the  object  of  political  persecution  by  the  North,  which 
they  have  borne  with  patience  and  returned  with  kindness. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  49 

In  1820,  the  North  entered  into  a  compromise,  whicli  has 
been  broken.  In  1850  they  made  new  agreements, 
which  have  since  been  violated.  In  1860  a  legal  majority 
elected  a  President  on  the  "  Platform"  that  "  Slavery 
must  be  restricted  to  its  present  limits."  Outraged  in  our 
rights,  and  threatened  in  our  interests,  what  course  is  left 
the  South  ?  To  fold  their  arms  and  await  more  injury 
and  endure  more  obloquy  ?  Would  this  check  the  ag 
gressions  of  the  North  till  both  North  and  South  were 
swallowed  up  in  the  vortex  of  ruin  ?  It  is  clear  that  the 
South  have  no  alternative.  Far  better  they  should  have 
no  alternative.  Far  better  they  should  have  abandoned 
fhe  Confederacy  than  remain  only  to  engage  in  bitter 
feuds  that  compromise  the  dignity  of  the  country,  and 
sow  the  seeds  of  undying  hatred. 

In  1789,  according  to  our  view,  the  South  entered  into 
a  civil  compact  with  the  North,  on  certain  conditions  and 
guarantees.  These  have  been  broken;  and  the  South  re 
turns,  in  her  opinion,  to  her  original  sovereignty.  Even 
were  it  otherwise — were  it  true  that  the  South  owed  alle 
giance  to  the  Federal  Government — still,  she  asserts  our 
Declaration  of  Independence  in  1776,  and  the  present 
practice  of  Europe  justify  all  people  in  repudiating  a 
government  which  assails  their  rights  and  sacrifices  their 
best  interests.  If  the  Northern  States  do  not  acknowl 
edge  these  truths,  then  are  they  false  to  their  origin,  and 
seek  to  substitute  for  a  government  of  opinion  the  tyranny 
of  force. 

A  few  general 'considerations,  aud  we  conclude  our 
narrative.  After  tracing  the  course  of  events  recorded 
in  the  foregoing  pages,  the  questions  naturally  arise — 
What  has  been  the  result  ?  What  have  the  Abolitionists 
gained]?  The  answers  may  be  briefly  summed  up  as 
follows: 

"With  the  fairest  portions  of  the  earth  in  their  posses 
sion,  and  with  the  advantage  of  a  long  discipline  as  the 
cultivators  of  the  soil,  their  constitutional  indolence  has 
converted  the  most  beautiful  islands  of  the  sea  into  howl 
ing  wastes.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say,  that  if  the  South 
should,  at  this  moment,  surrender  every  slave,  the 


50  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

wisdom  of  the  enthe  world,  united  in  solemn  council, 
could  not  solve  the  question  of  their  disposal.  Freedom 
would  be  their  doom.  Every  Southern  master  knows 
this  truth  and  feels  its  power." 

1.  Touch    the   negro,     and   you    touch   cotton — the 
mainspring  that    keeps   the  machinery  of  the  world  in 
motion.      In  teaching  slaves  to  entertain  wild  and  danger 
ous    notions    of    liberty,    the    Abolitionists    have    thus 
jeopardized  the  commerce  of  the  country  and  the  manu 
facturing   interests  of  the  civilized   world.     They  have 
likewise   destroyed    confidence.     In  short,   all  the  kind 
relations  that  have  ever  existed  between  the  North  and 
the  South  have  been  interrupted,  and  a  barrier  erected, 
wrhich,   socially,   commercially,   and  politically,  has  sepa 
rated  the  heretofore  united  interests  of  the  two  sections. 

2.  They   have   held  out  a  Canadian  Utopia,  where 
they  have  taught  the  slaves  in  their  ignorance  to  believe 
they  could  enjoy  a  life  of  ease  and  luxury,   and  having 
cut  them  off  from  a  race  of  kind  masters,   and  separated 
them  from  comfortable  homes,   left  the  deluded  beings, 
incapable  of  self-support,  upon  an  uncongenial  soil,  to  live 
in  a  state  of  bestiality  and  misery,   and  die  cursing  the 
Abolitionists  as  the  authors  of  their  wretchedness. 

3.  They  have  led  a  portion  of  the  people  of  the  North, 
as  well  as  of  the  South,  and  to  plant  themselves  upon  the 
broad  principle  that  that  form  of  government  which  re 
cognizes  the  institution  of  Slavery  in  the  United  States, 
is  the  best,   the  condition  of  the  two  races,  white  and 
black  being  considered,   for  the  development,  progress, 
and  happiness  of  each.     In  other  words,  to  regard  servi 
tude  as  a  blessing  to  the  negro,   and,    under  proper  and 
philanthropic  restrictions,  necessary  to  their  preservation 
and  the  prosperity  of  the  country. 

4.  Step  by  step  they  have  built  up  a  party  upon  an 
issue  which  has  led  to  a  dissolution  of  the  Union.      They 
have  scattered  the  seeds  of  Abolitionism   until  a  majority 
of  the  voters  of  the  Free    States  have  become  animated 
by  a  fixed  purpose  to  prevent  the  further  growth  of  the 
slave  power. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  51 

The  power  of  the  North  has  been  consolidated,  and, 
for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  country,  it  is 
wielded  as  a  sectional  weapon  against  the  interests  of  the 
South.  The  Government  is  now  in  the  hands  of  men 
elected  by  Northern  votes,  who  regard  slavery  as  a  curse 
and  a  crime,  and  they  will  have  the  means  necessary  to 
accomplish  their  purpose. 

The  utterances  that  have  heretofore  come  from 
the  rostrum,  or  from  irresponsible  associations  of  indi 
viduals,  now  come  from  the  throne.  u  Clad  with  the 
sanctities  of  office,  with  the  annotating  oil  poured  upon 
the  monarch's  head,  the  decree  has  gone  forth  that  the 
institution  of  Southern  Slavery  shall  be  constrained  within 
assigned  limits.  Though  Nature  and  Providence  should 
send  forth  its  branches  like  the  banyan  tree,  to  take  root 
in  congenial  soil,  here  is  a  power  superior  to  both,  that 
says  it  shall  wither  and  die  within  its  own  charmed 
circle." 

Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the  United  States, 
says:  "I  believe  this  Government  cannot  endure  per 
manently,  half  slave  and  half  free.  I  do  not  expect  the 
Union  to  be  dissolved ;  I  do  not  expect  the  house  to  fall, 
but  I  do  expect  that  it  will  cease  to  be  divided.  It  will 
become  all  one  thing,  or  all  the  other.  Either  the  op 
ponents  of  Slavery  will  arrest  the  further  spread  of  it, 
and  place  it  where  the  public  mind  shall  rest  in  the  be 
lief  that  it  is  in  the  course  of  ultimate  extinction,  or  its 
advocates  will  push  it  forward  until  it  shall  become  alike 
lawful  in  all  the  States,  old  as  well  as  new,  North  as  well 
as  South." 

ik  I  have  always  hated  slavery  as  much  as  any  Aboli 
tionist.  I  have  always  been  an  old  line  Whig.  I  have 
always  hated  it,  and  I  always  believed  it  in  a  course  of 
ultimate  extinction.  If  I  were  in  Congress,  and  a  vote 
should  come  up  on  a  question  whether  Slavery  should  be 
prohibited  in  a  new  Territory,  in  spite  of  the  Dred  Scott 
decision,  I  would  vote  that  it  should." 

"Abolitionism  and  fanaticism  is  a  blood-hound  that 
never  bolts  its  track  when  it  has  once  lapped  blood.  The 
elevation  of  their  candidate  is  far  from  being  the  consu- 


52  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

matior,  of  their  aims.  It  is  only  the  beginning  of  that 
consummation  ;  and  if  all  history  be  nctf  a  lie,  there  will 
be  coercion  enough  till  the  end  of  the  beginning  is  reached 
and  the  dreadful  banquet  of  slaughter  and  ruin  shall  glut 
the  appetite." 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  53 


CHAPTER  II. 


HOW  I  GOT  INTO  THE  ARMY.— GENERALS  POLK,  CARROL  AND  PILLOW. 
—SCENES  AT  FORT  PILLOW.— NEW  MADRID,  AND  ISLAND  10.— REL 
ATIVE  FORCES.— COMPLETE  LIST  OF  CONFEDERATE  BATTERIES 
AND  THEIR  OFFICERS.-INCIDENTS  OF  THE  ENGAGEMEMT. 

I  WAS  a  pretty  fair  Union  man  until  South  Carolina 
seceded,  then  felt  the  time  had  arrived  to  define  my 
position. 

I  was  at  a  fair  in  Macon,  Georgia,  when  the  news  came 
that  the  Palmetto  had  refused  to  shade  the  enemies  of  the 
South,  thus  casting  an  electric  spark  into  the  political 
magazine  of  the  country. 

Being  called  upon,  as  a  representative  of  Tennessee,  to 
make  a  speech,  my  response  was  a  definition  of  my  posi 
tion  as  alluded  to ;  satisfying  myself,  if  not  my  hearers, 
that  I  Avas  a  dyed  in  the  wool  seceder.  My  peroration 
was,  as  follows :  "  There  was  not  a  Tennessean  in  that 
broad  domain  from  Shelby,  to  Carter,  but  would  shed  the 
last  drop  of  blood  that  coursed  through  his  veins,  in  stay 
ing  the  advance  of  an  enemy,  that  would  desecrate  your 
household  and  political  Gods,  and  make  your  hearths  and 
firesides  desolate."  That's  what  I  said,  my  boy.  But  I 
lied  under  a  mistake,  for  very  many,  too  many,  you  see, 
didn't  do  any  thing  of  the  kind.  The  above  speech  wras 
made  under  the  patronage  of  those  two  distinguished 
Maconites,  Captain  Conner  and  General  Frank.  Bloom, 
who  were  my  friends,  and  presented  me  to  the  large  and 
enthusiastic  crowd,  who  were  yelling,  "  No  more  bounty 
on  cod-fish  ;"  "Hurrah  for  Tennessee  ;"  "Bully  for  South 
Carolina ;"  and  were  waking  things  v.-p  generally,  all  of 


54  SCEAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

which  excitement  had  its  effect  on  the  speaker,  not  men 
tioning  the  influence  of  that  mysterious  Georgia  combi 
nation,  "  peach  and  honey." 

On  returning  to  Memphis,  Tennessee,  I  joined  an 
organization,  called  the  Sixth  Ward  Company;  found 
them  alive  on  the  "  drill,"  and  drilled  with  them.  This 
continued  until  the  gun  fired  at  Sumpter,  13th  day  of 
April,  1861.  Lincoln's  proclamation  followed,  and  the 
South  rushed  to  arms.  The  excitement  in  my  company 
became  so  intense,  owing  to  the  fact,  that  Memphis  had 
appropriated  $50,000  for  defense,  an  act  based  on  her 
close  proximity  to  Cairo,  247  miles  disant,  and  the  forti 
fying  at  Fort  Harris,  with  my  old  schoolmate,  Captain 
Marsh  Patrick,  and  his  Crockett  Rangers.  Marsh  being 
one  of  the  most  recklessly  brave  men  I  ever  saw,  and  his 
Rangers  just  like  him — that  not  deeming  it  safe  to  risk 
my  military  prestige  with  such  imflamable  material,  I 
transferred  iny  ardor  to  an  organization  called  the  Gayoso 
Guards,  commanded  by  Captain  Tank  Wilson,  a  gentle 
man  and  a  soldier,  whose  bad  health  prevented  a  display 
of  that  efficiency  demanded  by  the  service.  We  were 
drilled  by  Captain  Johu  Cameron,  of  the  "Young  Guard," 
who,  although  barely  out  of  his  teens,  was  unexceptionable 
in  drill  and  military  decorum.  His  lieutenants,  Will. 
Bourne  and  Otis  Smith,  the  former  as  gallant  a  boy  as  I 
ever  knew,  son  of  my  old  friend  Captain  Jim  Bourne,  one 
of  Memphis's  most  useful  citizens,  the  latter  a  good  soldier 
and  genial  companion,  were  effective  aids  to  their  captain, 
in  all  matters  pertaining  to  drill  and  discipline.  Captain 
Bowdoin  Locke  gave  us  the  finishing  touch  which  his 
West  Point  education  enabled  him  to  do,  and  the  com 
pany  prepared  for  active  service,  by  organizing  on  the 
8th  of  June,  1861,  with  the  author  as  captain,  on  the  22d 
of  July  following,  was  mustered  into  the  service  of  the 
State  of  Tennessee,  whose  army  was  raised  as  a  provi 
sional  force  under  a  legislative  act  of  May  6th,  1861,  by 
Major  W.  B.  Campbell,  A.  D.  C.  to  General  J.  Pillow, 
the  former  a  scholar,  soldier,  and  gentleman,  the  latter 
an  impetuous,  rash,  brave,  generous  hearted  soldier,  with 
one  of  the  best  executive  heads  in  the  country. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  55 

The  following  order  was  my  first  introduction  to  mili 
tary  life : 

"  Head-quarters  Inspector  General's  Dep*t,    Provisional 
Army  of  Tennessee,  Memphis,  July  31^,  1861. 

"  Captain  Joe  Barbiere  is  authorized  by  me  to  take  com 
mand  of  the  regiment  to  rendezvous  at  Colliersville, 
Tennessee,  under  the  commission  given  me  by  General 
Leonidas  Polk,  to  raise  regiments  for  the  Confederate 
service. 

"WM.  H.  CARROL, 
"  Inspector  General,  Tennessee  Army." 

This  kind  offer  of  promotion  by  General  Carrol  was 
declined,  owing  to  a  promise  I  made  my  company  not  to 
leave  them,  which  I  fulfilled,  and  have  no  cause  to  regret 
it.  General  Carrol  was  the  son  of  Governor  Carrol,  of 
Tennessee,  who  with  Jackson,  at  New  Orleans,  made 
Tennessee  and  her  sons  famous.  There  are  few  better  men 
than  Bill  Carrol ;  and  I  am  sure  none  braver.  His  A. 
A.  G.,  Colonel  Cayce  Young,  was  the  coolest  soldier 
under  fire  I  ever  saw,  with  an  undying  energy,  that  had  it 
not  been  for  an  impaired  constitution,  would  have  placed 
him  in  the  highest  niche  in  the  military  temple  of  the 
South.  Colonel  Young  did  much  towards  organizing  and 
rendering  effective  the  military  arm  of  the  State. 
Captain  William  Carrol,  Jr.,  A.  D.  C.,  was  a  model  sol 
dier,  devoted  to  his  father — the  soul  of  honor  and  a  fitting 
shoot  of  that  worthy  stock  that  has  shed  so  much  lustre 
on  the  name  of  "  Tennessean." 

Captain  John  Wilkerson,  I.  G.,  on  the  staff,  was  a 
reckless  of  consequences  officer,  distinguished  himself  at 
Belmont,  and  was  ever  foremost  when  there  was  danger 
in  the  van.  John's  motto  was  a  stereotyped  one,  "be  it 
on  the  scaffold  high,  or  in  the  battle's  van,  the  noblest 
death  for  man  to  die  is  where  he  dies  for  man  ;"  and  if 
John  has  not  died,  it  has  been  because  a  kind  Providence 
has  held  him  in  reserve  for  years  of  future  peace  and 
plenty,  which  his  big  heart  so  eminently  deserves.  Cap 
tain  John  Harris,  ordinance  officer,  whom  I  have  known 
from  his  infancy,  is  a  promising  soldier,  and  bids  fair  to 
take  prominent  position  among  the  cavaliers  of  the  Con- 


56  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

federate  army.  The  order  from  General  Carrol  attracted 
the  notice  of  General  Leoiiidas  Polk^who  immediately 
summoned  me  to  his  head-quarters. 

"  General  Polk,  I  believe  ?" 

"  Walk  in,  captain." 

"  General,  you  have  sent  for  me,  and  I  am  here.  My 
name  is  -  — ." 

"  Well,  sir,  I  knew  who  you  were  before  I  sent  for  you. 
General  Carrol's  order  is  irregular,  sir;  the  General  has 
permission  to  raise  regiments  for  the  C.  S.  A.,  while  you 
are  in  the  service  of  the  State  of  Tennessee." 

"  Very  true,  General ;  but  you  can  muster  me  into  the 
Confederate  service,  thus  harmonizing  matters  at  your 
convenience." 

"  Well,  sir,  that  settles  the  question.  I  will  attend  to 
your  case  at  once,"  and  with  a  bow  and  salute  the  inter 
view  terminated,  leaving  me  impressed  with  the  greatness 
of  the  man. 

Major  Anderson  was  post-quartermaster  during  the 
reign  of  Dixie  in  Memphis.  Everybody  abused  him,  and 
not  one  gave  him  credit  for  half  he  did.  The  mass  of  tho 
troops  from  Arkansas,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Texas,  and 
Tennessee  passed  through  Memphis ;  a  host  of  officers 
had  to  be  paid,  tents,  canteens,  haversacks,  etc.,  had  to 
be  supplied.  He  was  banker,  merchant,  book-keeper, 
appraiser,  and  stable-keeper — for  one  hundred  and  sixty 
dollars  per  month.  He  had  able  assistants  ;  but  the  bulk 
of  the  duties  devolved  upon  him  alone. 

The  post-commissary,  Major  Calvin  Fackler,  was  one 
of  the  best  business  men  I  ever  knew ;  they  say  he  had 
faults;  who  lias  them  not"?  He  with  Anderson  were 
attentive  to  my  military  wants,  and  I  remember  them 
kindly  for  it.  After  being  mustered  into  the  general 
service  I  was  ordered  to  take  charge  of  a  battery  at  the 
mouth  of  Wolf  river,  which  I  held  one  month  for  bunkum, 
knowing  that  when  an  enemy  came  in  range  of  my  guns 
his  projectiles  would  reach  the  city,  showing  the  military 
follies  committed,  the  first  year  of  the  war,  although 
the  order  placing  me  in  charge  emanated  from  a  West 
Pointer,  Colonel  Bonham,  a  stern  and  inflexible  discip- 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  57 

linarian.  Colonel  Marsh  Walker,  on  releiving  Colonel 
Bonham,  with  that  good  judgment  for  which  he  was 
always  celebrated,  ordered  me  to  give  up  the  battery  and 
remove  my  command  to  Germantown,  a  village  about 
fifteen  miles  from  Memphis,  on  ths  M.  &  C.  R.  K. ;  at 
this  point  we  attempted  the  organization  of  a  regiment 
which  was  to  assist  in  forming  a  brigade,  to  be  com 
manded  by  General  W.  H.  Carroll.  The  Thirty-seventh 
Tennessee,  already  formed,  commanded  by  Colonel 
Moses  White,  one  of  the  most  perfect  specimens  of 
manliness  and  chivalry  to  be  found  throughout  the  world 
of  humanity.  The  Thirty-eighth  Tennessee,  commanded 
by  Colonel  Eobert  Looney,  a  personal  friend  of  years 
standing,  and  whose  many  genial  qualities  and  splendid 
oratorical  powers  has  earned  him  a  host  of  friends  in  the 
social  and  political  circles  of  his  section.  My  own 
regiment  not  forming  rapidly  enough  for  the  emergency, 
the  brigade  left  for  East  Tennessee,  and  we  were  left  out 
of  it.  In  a  few  days  I  was  ordered  to  move  my  battalion 
to  Fort  Pillow,  80  miles  above  Memphis,  on  the  Missis 
sippi  river;  we  were  two  days  in  making  the  trip,  and 
only  had  one  day's  rations  ;  this  soured  the  men,  who  had 
obtained  whiskey  and  were  very  hard  to  manage.  We 
reached  the  Fort,  mud  a  foot  deep,  and  the  weather 
excessively  cold;  this  was  the  initiative  of  genuine 
soldiering.  I  immediately  reported  to  the  colonel-com- 
manding's  head-quarters;  had  on  blue  coat,  staff  buttons, 
blue  pants  with  gold  stripe  an  inch  wide,  broad-brimmed 
hat  with  gold  band,  and  a  sweeping  feather;  in  fact, 
Brummel  never  felt  better  dressed,  nor  Wellington  more 
grand. 

I  had  known  the  commandant  from  boyhood — yet 
approached  him  deferentially,  he  remarked  : 

"  Captain,  what  is  that  feather  in  your  hat  for  ?" 

"  'Tis  the  style  in  Tennessee,"  colonel." 

"  I  was  not  aware  of  it  captain,  I  thought  you  wore  it 
possibly  to  keep  the  rain  off ' 

The  next  day  the  hat  and  feather  went  up — then  the 
gold  stripes — and  in  a  few  weeks  I  became  a  respectable 
looking  soldier.  We  were  ordered  to  consolidat?  our 
^ 


58  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

battalion  with  two  Mississippi  and  four  Alabama  companies, 
which  we  did.  I  was  defeated  for  a  field  office,  and 
resolved  into  my  old  position  of  senior  captain,  after  the 
election.  I  dropped  into  surgeons'  head-quarters — the 
two  chiefs  of  this  department  being  Messrs.  Cobb  and 
Benjamin,  whose  pleasant  attentions  to  their  friends  made 
their  mess  the  centre  of  attraction  at  the  post.  Colonel 
Walker,  who  was  present,  remarked  to  me: — - 

"  Captain,  you  are  looking  dull  to  day !" 

"  I  hope  your  defeat  has  not  given  you  the  hypo." 

"  Oh,  no,  colonel,  not  at  all." 

At  this  moment  Lieutenant  McCall,  a  bluff  old  U.  S. 
A.  officer,  addressed  me. 

"  Never  mind,  captain,  a  major  is  nothing  but  a  d — d 
stick." 

Colonel  Walker,  interrupting,  "Let  me  introduce 
Major  Minter,  of  the  Fortieth." 

"  Oh,  I  beg  pardon,  major,"  exclaims  the  waggish 
McCall.  "but  you  must  admit  he  is  nothing  but  a  d — — 
tile-closer." 

Minter  being  an  amiable  man  accepted  the  apology. 
I  was  appeased — consoled  for  my  defeat,  which  is  an  event 
common  to  all  men. 

After  charging  around  in  the  mud  at  Fort  Pillow  for 
three  montlis,  amused  by  drills  and  talse  alarms,  stopping 
boats  unnecessarily,  very  much  to  the  annoyance  and  dis 
gust  of  their  officers,  the  only  boat  that  attempted  to  run 
the  batteries  of  tbe  fort,  was  one  with  despatches  from 
General  Polk,  and  she  was  successful,  as  the  officer  at 
the  gun  rammed  his  ball  in  before  his  cartridge,  greatly 
to  his  discomfiture  and  the  amusement  of  his  brother 
officers.  I've  tried  stopping  boats,  and  find  it  a  very 
difficult  matter,  even  if  you  load  regular,  having 
attempted  it  with  Commodore  Walke,  at  "  Island  Ten." 

I  had  been  promised  a  leave  of  absence  for  some  time, 
and  to  kill  two  birds  with  one  stone,  the  commanding 
officer  gave  me  leave  and  an  order  at  the  same  time, 
authorizing  me  to  take  charge  of  the  steamboat  "  Win 
chester,"  said  boat  being  employed  to  carry  surplus  war 
.  material  and  extra  baggage  of  the  fort,  the  command 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  59 

being  ordered  to  New  Madrid,  Missouri,  as  well  to  convey 
the  families  of  several  of  the  officers  to  Memphis. 

It  was  a  trying,  period,  and  the  first  time  the  stern 
realities  of  war  were  realized  by  devoted  wives  and  inno 
cent  children,  the  latter,  of  whom  there  were  several, 
seeming  as  if  their  little  hearts  would  break. 

DEDICATED  TO  MY    LITTLE  FRIEND   WINNY  JAMES,  SON  OF  A. 
R.  JAMES,    DOYLESTOWN,   PA. 

There  is  nothing  so  softening,  so  humanizing,  as  the 
influence  of  the  innocent  child  upon  the  coarser  nature  of 
the  man,  next  to  woman's  love,  it  has  no  equal  in  the 
physical  world  in  paving  the  rough  elements  of  our  na 
ture  with  the  flowers  of  innocence.  Who  that  dandles 
the  little  prattler  upon  his  knee,  but  feels  that  he  imbibes 
that  spirit  that  tells  us  we  must  "  become  as  a  little  child" 
before  we  "can  enter  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,"  and  has 
the  better  feelings  of  his  heart  invoked  to  think  of  soothing 
sentences,  and  to  devise  artless  tales  to  please  the  child 
he  descends  to,  as  the  Great  Federick  ever  did. 

The  man  who  will  amuse  the  little  ones  with  "  cherries 
are  ripe,  O  give  the  baby  one,"  "sing  a  song  of  six-pence," 
and  ' s  little  Jack  Horner,"  even,  if  a  bad  man,  will  feel 
most  beneficially  the  modifying  influence  of  "baby  talk" 
in  his  household.  He  who  loves  children  may  be  unfor 
tunately  constituted  as  regards  passion  and  impulse,  but 
he  cannot  be  a  very  bad  man.  God  bless  the  little  ones, 
and  don't  be  cross  to  them,  as  for  every  word  so  spoken 
there  will  be  many  an  after  pang,  should  the  little  eyes 
cease  to  wink  and  blink,  the  little  mouth  to  prattle,  and 
the  tiny  shoe  of  the  little  toddler  of  the  household  be 
placed  carefully  away  in  the  bureau  drawer,  when  the 
little  one's  spirit  has  gone  to  the  God  who  gave  it.  Yes, 
be  kind  to  the  children.  The  author  will  never  forget 
the  friends  of  his  childhood,  and  can  hardly  forgive  that 
man  who  insulted  him,  while  a  child. 

We  reached  Memphis  in  safety,  I  delivered  my  precious 
charge  of  living  freight,  remained  in  the  city  for  a  few 


60  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

days,  when  it  was  rumored  they  were  fighting  at  New 
Madrid.  I  immediately  left  to  join  my  command; 
reached  Tiptonville,  found  the  river  blocked  by  the 
enemy's  batteries  at  Point  Pleasant,  walked  through  to 
Island  Ten,  thence  by  boat  to  New  Madrid,  in  time  to 
participate  in  the  engagement. 

As  historians  will  speak  of  these  engagements,  I  deem 
it  due  the  officers,  now  my  fellow  prisoners,  to  give  a 
synopsis  of  the  two  engagements,  as  I  witnessed  them. 
They  were  not  bloody  affairs,  but  were  evidences  of  the 
powers  of  endurance  of  a  soldiery,  taken  fresh  from  the 
plow,  loom,  and  anvil,  the  office  and  bar,  when  engaged 
in  a  cause  holy  to  them,  and  to  which  they  had  pledged 
their  "lives,  fortunes,  and  sacred  honor."  The  force  in 
front  of  us  at  New  Madrid,  was  reported  thirty-two  regi 
ments  of  infantry,  seven  of  cavalry,  two  of  engineers, 
twelve  light  batteries,  and  some  heavy  siege  guns.  Our 
force  aggregated  not  exceeding  thirty-five  hundred  effec 
tive  men.  For  the  first  few  days  after  our  occupation, 
nothing  of  moment  transpired  excepting  picket  firing,  and 
a  skirmish  of  the  Fortieth  Tennessee,  under  Colonel  Hen 
derson,  with  some  of  the  enemy's  cavalry,  driving  them 
back,  and  the  unfortunate  killing  of  the  gallant  Captain 
West,  (Billy  West,  as  his  comrades  called  him.)  He  had 
been  provost  marshal  of  New  Madrid,  and  was  acting  as 
a  scout,  reconnoitering  the  enemy's  picket  lines,  when 
killed  by  mistake  by  one  of  our  own  pickets.  West  was 
a  noble  fellow,  and  died  as  he  had  lived,  cool  and  un 
flinching.  His  effects  were  taken  charge  of  by  Drake 
McDowell,  his  old  friend  and  companion  in  arms. 

Dr.  Drake  McDowell  is  the  son  of  the  famous  doctor 
of  the  same  name  in  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  after  whom  the 
college  is  named,  now  used  for  imprisoning  "  Southern 
sympathizers."  McDowell  acted  the  scout" for  us  at  New 
Madrid,  penetrated  beyond  the  enemy's  lines,  discovered 
their  strength  and  intentions,  and  predicted  all  that 
afterwards  occurred. 

The  morning  of  the  13th  of  March,  1862,  found  us 
enveloped  in  a  heavy  fog,  under  cover  of  which  the  enemy 
advanced  their  columns,  in  three  divisions,  under  Schuy- 


SCRAPS  FEOM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  61 

ler  Hamilton,  Stanley,  and  Payne,  with  Pope  at  his 
head-quarters  uin  his  saddle,"  at  the  rear — with  the 
reserve.  We  were  in  a  miserable  condition.  Our  camps 
in  the  upper  fort  wrere  immediately  on  the  bank  of  the 
river,  ditches  from  one  to  three  feet  deep  through  our 
camp,  as  it  was  the  rainy  season,  and  they  were  usually 
full  of  water.  The  sinks  were  about  ten  steps  from  the 
writer's  tent ;  no  protection  for  our  wounded  or  sick ; 
one- third  of  our  number  ill — cause,  fresh  pork  and  Mis 
sissippi  water ;  all  of  which  the  enemy  were  aware  of, 
and  deemed  us  easy  prey.  We  were  supported  by  five 
gun-boats,  among  the  most  prominent  being  the  Pon- 
chartrain,  commanded  by  that  polished  officer,  Captain 
John  Dunington.  It  was  the  look-out  on  this  boat  that 
discovered  the  advancing  columns  of  the  enemy,  who 
were  preparing  to  form,  for  the  purpose  of  storming  our 
position.  We  immediately  opened  on  them,  with  a  fire  so 
destructive,  as  to  drive  them  back,  and,  as  per  their  official 
report,  a  hasty  council  of  division  officers  was  called,  at 
the  suggestion  of  their  superior,  decided  to  withdraw  their 
forces — an  act  of  cowardice,  only  equalled  by  our  dis 
graceful  evacuation  of  the  place.  They  could  have  driven 
us  into  the  river  at  any  time,  had  they  stormed  us,  rather 
than  amused  themselves  by  desultory  firing  ;  one  of  their 
balls  striking  our  medical  director,  Dr.  Bell,  a  most 
accomplished  surgeon  and  estimable  gentleman.  He  was 
conversing  with  General  McCown,  when  a  solid  shot, 
passing  between  the  legs  of  the  General,  shattered  the 
feet  of  Dr.  Bell.  They  were  amputated  above  the  ankle, 
and  he  died  the  next  day. 

On  the  morning  of  the  13th  of  March,  Charlie  Logan 
lost  his  life.  He  was  a  member  of  Captain  Frank  A. 
Eagsdale's  company,  Company  B,  Fortieth  Tennessee. 
He  was  a  brave,  courageous  fellow,  and  died  regretted  by 
his  command.  His  death  was  accidental  and  instantane 
ous.  We  could  not  bury  him  in  the  lines,  and  it  was 
impossible  do  be  done  outside,  so  he  was  cleanly  dressed 
and  shaved,  under  the  supervision  of  his  captain,  and  left 
with  evidence  in  writing  who  he  was.  The  report  of  our 
leaving  our  dead  unburied,  originated  in  this  single  case. 


62  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

On  the  night  of  the  13th,  as  mentioned,  it  was  decided 
to  evacuate  New  Madrid.  The  writer  was  in  charge  of 
the  reserve  picket  that  night,  one  of  the  most  terrific  ones 
ever  passed.  It  was  stormy,  the  reverberating  claps  of 
thunder,  in  their  sublimity,  drowning  the  recollection  of 
the  roar  of  artillery  the  day  previous.  The  lightnings 
flashed,  darting  into  the  river  in  perpendicular  streaks, 
with  a  hissing  sound,  like  some  angry  spirit  in  the  world 
of  torment.  I  had  quartered  my  picket  in  the  court 
house,  and  here  was  witnessed  one  of  those  scenes  of 
vandalism  ever  attendant  upon  the  movement  of  large 
bodies  of  men,  be  they  either  friends  or  enemies.  The 
records  of  the  county  for  half  a  century,  titles  and  licenses, 
with  other  valuable  documents,  were  lying  on  the  floor, 
a  foot  deep  covered  with  mud,  and  trampled  upon  by  the 
soldiery,  and  those  upon  the  shelves  scattered  and  torn, 
to  gratify  an  idle  curiosity. 

About  midnight,  a  tall  figure,  shrouded  in  a  large 
military  cloak,  with  a  lantern  beneath,  Major  Jim  Alex 
ander,  General  Walker's  adjutant,  as  true  an  officer  as 
ever  wore  the  Confederate  uniform,  notifying  me  to 
44  bring  in  the  reserves,  we  were  evacuating."  I  immedi 
ately  aroused  my  picket,  and,  after  some  trouble,  reached 
the  sally-port  with  them,  only  losing  four  or  five,  who 
were  captured  by  the  Federals  the  next  day.  On  reach 
ing  our  camp,  I  found  the  troops  had  all  left,  the  gun 
boat  Ponchartrain  alone  remaining  ;  and  had  it  not  been 
for  General  Marsh  Walker,  I  think  it  would  have  gone 
also,  leaving  the  picket  to  their  fate.  The  General 
remained  on  the  bow  of  the  gun-boat,  in  the  drenching 
rain,  posting  the  writer  at  the  foot  of  the  single  plank 
that  communicated  with  the  shore,  and  where  he  remained 
one  of  the  last  to  leave  the  shore. 

Captain  A.  S.  Levy,  quarter-master  of  the  First  Ala 
bama,  Tennessee  and  Mississippi  volunteers,  deserves 
much  credit  for  faithful  performance  of  duties  entrusted 
to  him. 

The  troops  were  divided ;  some  going  to  Tiptonville, 
others  to  Island  10,  the  regiment  to  which  the  writer 
belonged  four  miles  below  the  island,  on  the  main  shore, 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  63 

and  seven  miles  above  New  Madrid  ;  thence  to  the  interior 
for  picket  duty  ;  thence  up  to  the  main  land  facing  the 
island,  which  they  crossed  to,  and  picketed  alternately 
with  the  other  regiments  on  the  main  shore. 

The  island  and  main  land  batteries  have  been  over 
rated  by  writers.  The  following  is  a  correct  statement 
of  the  location,  and  number  of  batteries  : 

Battery  No.  1,  two  eight-inch  Columbiads,  four  thirty- 
two-pound  smooth-bore,  commanded  by  Captain  E.  W. 
Rucker,  of  Memphis,  Tennessee,  whose  gallantry  on  this 
occasion  was  heralded  throughout  the  Confederacy,  and 
received  special  notice,  in  general  orders  from  the  com 
manding  General. 

Senior  First  Lieutenant  John  E.  Saunders  is  an  edu 
cated  gentleman,  and  a  brave  officer. 

Second  Lieutenant  W.  B.  Clarke,  of  Alabama,  was  a 
courageous  and  promising  soldier,  and  was  killed  at  his 
post,  while  performing  duty,  in  company  with  Lieutenant 
Chapman,  during  the  terrific  bombardment  of  the  Ifth 
of  March.  This  battery  was  supported  by  the  First 
Alabama  regiment,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Stead- 
man,  a  thorough  officer,  who  was  ably  seconded  by 
Capt.  J.  F.  Whith'eld,  of  Montgomery,  Alabama,  formerly 
connected  with  the  press  of  that  city,  who,  like  all  print 
ers,  is  brave  and  generous  and  warm  in  his  attachments, 
and  whose  friendship  the  author  is  proud  of. 

Battery  No.  2,  four  thirty-two  pound  rifle-guns,  com 
manded  by  Captain  R.  S.  Sterling,  Senior  First  Lieu 
tenant  A.  Munch,  Second  Lieutenant  Thomas  James 
Finnie,  Junior  First  Lieutenant  Roe,  Second  Lieutenant 
Hagan,  This  battery  was  skillfully  managed  and  well 
served,  the  officers  and  men  behaving  like  veteran?. 
Lieutenant  Finnie  deserves  especial  mention,  and  per 
formed  the  duties  of  his  office  in  a  manner  that  would 
have  distinguished  him  on  any  field.  The  lieutenant  is  a 
Memphian,  and  is  as  enthusiastic  to  all  that  appertains 
to  the  moral  improvement  of  his  city,  as  he  is  at  serving 
his  battery.  Messrs.  Sterling,  Munch,  and  Roe  proved 
themselves  skillful  and  effective. 

Battery  No.  3,  three  thirty-two  pound  rifle  cautious, 


64  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

commanded  by  T.  W.  Hoadley,  Senior  First  Lieutenant 
Parks,  Junior  First  Lieutenant  Baggett.  This  was  a 
small  battery,  but  one  that  would  have  done  much  exe 
cution,  "had  the  enemy  come  within  effective  range. 

Battery  No,  4,  one  eight-inch  Columbiad,  three  thirty- 
two  pound  rifle  guns,  commanded  by  Captain  A.  Jackson, 
junior,  Senior  First  Lieutenant  Brown,  Second  Lieutenant 
Chinn,  Junior  First  Lieutenant  No wlan,  and  Second  Lieu 
tenant  McClure.  The  commander  is  well  known  to 
Tennesseans,  is  a  graduate  of  West  Point,  and  an  accom 
plished  officer.  Lieutenant  McClnre,  although  young, 
is  of  much  experience,  both  in  Australia  and  America. 
Messrs.  Chinn  and  Nolan  performed  the  duties  to  which 
they  were  assigned,  creditable  to  their  corps. 

Battery  No.  5,  one  thirty-two  pound  rifle-gun,  three 
sixty-four  pound  smooth-bore,  and  three  thirty-two  pound 
smooth-bore,  commanded  at  the  passing  of  the  gun-boats 
by  Senior  First  Lieutenant  S.  R.  Hay  man,  Second  Lieu 
tenant  J.  A.  Forrey,  Junior  First  Lieutenant  W.  B. 
Michie,  Junior  Second  Lieutenant  G.  W.  McCown. 
1  layman  had  one  of  the  best  handled  batteries  on  the 
main  shore,  it  was  a  perfect  specimen  of  order  and 
cleanliness,  he  himself  acting  with  firmness  and  calm 
ness.  Lieutenant  Forrey  is  a  chip  off  the  old  block, 
and  those  who  know  his  father,  Major  Jim  Forrey,  of 
Tennessee,  will  not  question  the  fighting  qualities  of  the 
son.  Messrs.  Michie  and  McCown  performed  creditably 
their  allotted  duties.  The  foregoing  list  is  complete,  of 
the  guns  and  officers  on  the  main  shore,  being  a  total  of 
twenty-four  guns.  The  batteries  on  the  island  proper, 
\vere  near  and  on  the  head  of  the  island,  and  so  situated 
as  to  be  defenseless  to  a  rear  attack.  The  principle  bat 
tery  was  one  of  seven  guns  ;  one  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
eight  pound  rifled  gun,  which  burst  after  two  or  three 
discharges;  two  eight-inch  Columbiads,  one  twenty- 
four  pound  rifled ;  three  thirty-two  pound  smooth-bore, 
commanded  by  Captain  W.  Y.  C.  Humes,  Senior  First 
Lieutenant,  George  Martin,  Second,  George  R.  Hill, 
Junior  First  Lieutenant,  W.  C.  Winston,  Second,  E. 
C.  McDowell.  The  captain  of  this  battery,  must  have  had 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.         65 

nerves  of  steel.  Day  after  day  did  the  air  resound  with 
shriek  of  shell,  and  the  roar  of  the  mortars,  as  they  dis 
charged  them,  the  air  being  literally  filled  at  times  with 
fragments,  yet  Captain  Humes  remained  at  his  post.  He 
was  ably  seconded  by  Lieutenant  George  S.  Martin,  a 
nephew  of  General  Pillow,  and  one  of  the  most  fearless 
young  officers  in  the  service.  Their  junior  officers  dis 
played  nerve  equal  to  veterans. 

Washington  Heavy  Artillery,  three  thirty-two  pound 
smooth-bore,  commanded  by  Captain  P.  W;  Bibb,  Senior 
First  Lieutenant  Lipscomb,  Second  Lieutenant  L.  Y. 
Burke,  Junior  First  Lieutenant  John  J.  Lane,  Second 
Lieutenant  W.  H.  Rupert.  This  batter)7  was  well  officered. 
Bibb  looks  every  inch  the  soldier ;  Lipscomb  belongs  to 
the  press,  and  is  one  of  the  many  game  men  the  "  Fourth 
Estate"  has  thrown  into  the  field.  Lieutenant  Rupert 
has  the  reputation  of  writing  the  worst  piece  of  poetry  I 
ever  read. 

Nelson  Artillery,  one  eight  inch  Columbiad,  two  twenty- 
four  pound  rifled  guns,  two  thirty-two  pound  smooth-bore, 
commanded  by  Captain  John  A.  Fisher,  Senior  First 
Lieutenant  J.  J.  McDaniel,  Second  Lieutenant  R.  J.  Polk, 
Junior  First  Lieutenant  Thomas  L.  Bransford,  Second 
Lieutenant  Daniel  D.  Phillips,  and  Lieutenant  Thomas 
B.  Cook.  This  last  completes  the  list  of  guns  on  the 
island  proper.  Captain  Fisher  had  a  good  battery,  and 
was  assisted  by  good  officers.  Messrs.  Polk  and  Phillips, 
I  know  personally  to  be  gentlemen  unexceptionable  in 
bearing,  of  courtly  manner,  flushed  with  the  hopes  of 
youth,  yet  displaying  the  fortitude  of  veterans.  Messrs. 
Bransford  and  Cook  are  unknown  to  the  writer  personally, 
yet  have  the  reputation  of  being  competent  officers. 

The  total  of  effective  guns  on  the  island  proper,  was 
fourteen.  The  sum  total  of  main  shore  and  island  (that 
kept  Pope  and  his  forty  thousand' men  at  bay,  with  Foote 
and  his  iron-clad  fleet,  for  weeks,)  was  thirty-nine  guns, 
only  a  few  being  of  any  important  weight,  and  they  sus 
taining  the  entire  brunt  of  the  attack.  During  the 
occupation  of  the  main  shore,  Battery  No.  5  was  in  charge 
of  Captain  Joseph  B.  Caruthers,  Senior  First  Lieutenant 


66  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

Thomas  J.  Caruthers,  Senior  Second  Lieutenant  Pleasant 
B.  Roe,  Junior  First  Lieutenant  James  Moore,  Second 
Lieutenant  Stephen  J.  Lett.  There  are  few  officers  in 
the  service  who  stood  higher  than  Captain  and  Lieutenant 
Caruthers. 

Our  chief  of  ordnance  on  the  main  shore  was  Lieuten 
ant  Tidmarsh.    There  are  but  few  who  were  at  island  10, 
who  have  forgotten  Tidmarsh,  with  his  genial  face,  sallies 
of  wit,  jokes  and  and  repartee.     "  Tid,"  as  we  call  him, 
is  the  only  knight  of  the  "sock  and  buskin"  within  the 
prison  limits,  and  if  we  are  ever  exchanged,  then  "  after 
the  fitful  fever  (war)  is  over,"   and  Tid  should  live  to 
' '  star  "  it,  there  is  no  hero,    comic  or  dramatic,  that  can 
touch  the  bumpers,  we  will  ovate  to  old  "  Tiddy."  Lieu 
tenant  Tidmarsh  is  of  English  extraction,  a  native  of  Hal 
ifax,  of  aristocratic  connections,  has  a  fund  of  information, 
the  result  of  travel  over  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe, 
He  distinguished  himself  on  the  17th  of  March,  at  Island 
10,  in  supplying  the  famous  Rucker's  battery  with  am 
munition.     Being  constantly  exposed  during  the  heaviest 
firing  of  the  day.     The  lieutenant  relates  a  little  incident 
that  occurred  during  the  severest  part  of  the  firing,  that 
must  have  been  affecting.     When  one  considers  the  men 
and  the  occation  :    "I  was  observing  the  gallantry  with 
which  Captain  Rucker  was  directing  the  fire  of  his  guns, 
under  a  perfect  storm  of  shell,  when  I  noticed  Captain 
Winters,  of  the  engineer  corps,    a  brave  and  able  officer, 
passing.    He  and  Rucker,  had  been  at  "  dagger's  points  " 
for  months,  and  I  thought  the  opportunity  a  favorable  one 
to  reconcile  these  two  brave,  yet  sensitive  spirits.  Bring 
ing  them  face  to  face,  I  said  :  Gentlemen,  at  such  a  time, 
and  under  such  circumstances,  be  friends.  *They  grasped 
each  extended  hand,   and  the  tear  drop  glistened  in  the 
now   moist   eye.        "  Tid "    doesn't  inform  us,  but  the 
lines  upon  his  begrimed  face,   made  by  trickling  tears — 
after  the  fight  was  over,  is  proof  of  the  "  milk  of  human 
kindness,"  dwelling  in  the  heart  of  the  whole-souled  Tid 
marsh.     His  constant  occupation  in  prison  is  in  making 
soup  and  delicacies  for  the  sick  in  our  hospital.     All  being 
a  gratuity,  and  a  labor  of  love. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  67 

The  few  lines  below,  written  by  him,  to  please  a  child, 
show  the  freshness  of  a  heart,  that  had  experienced  the 
vicissitudes  of  life  for  half  a  century  : 

"LU  LU. 

"  Sweet  Lu  Lu,  your  papa  to-day 

Tells  me,  I  must  indite  a  lay. 

The  subject  of  this  short  narration, 

To  be  my  name,  and  rank,  and  station. 

So  pretty  Lu  Lu,  here  I  go, 

To  tell  you  almost  all  I  know  : 

First  for  my  name — stop,  here's  a  blunder, 

To  rind  out  that :  you  must  look  under 

Where  'tis  written  in  this  way, 

First  Lieutenant,  C.  S.  A. 

And  if  you'd  know  a  little  more, 

Why  place  me  in  the  artillery  corps. 

Pray,  now  dear  Lu  Lu,  don't  you  laugh, 

This  truly  is  my  autograph  ; 

That  ruby  lip — nay,  do  not  pout  it, 

I'm  sure  I've  told  you  all  about  it. 

And  now  I  really  am  quite  fervent, 

In  subscribing  myself  "  devoted  servant," 

One  ot  the  unfortunate  men, 

Captured  with  pa,  at  Island  Ten. 

Our  Generals  at  Island  10,  General  Stewart  came  and 
left ;  Generals  Trudeau,  McCown  and  Walker  did  the 
same.  General  Mackall  came  and  took  us  with  him  (to 
2)tison.}  Acting  Brigadiers  Alexander  J.  Brown,  of  Ten 
nessee,  a  gentleman,  and^soldier  ;  and  Colonel  Gaunt,  of 
Arkansas.  The  officers  of  my  brigade  were  Alpheus 
Baker,  of  Alabama,  a  nervous,  rash  officer,  with  personal 
courage,  generous  disposition,  but  an  indiscreet  command 
er.  Lieutenant  Colonel  W.  T.  A  very.  I  allude  to  Avery 
in  another  scrap,  yet  consider  him  entitled  to  a  notice  in 
two.  Colonel  Avery  was  a  member  of  Congress  from  the 
Tenth  Congressional  district  of  Tennessee,  was  a  promi 
nent  member  of  the  House,  having  made  the  leading 
speech  in  support  of  the  Administration,  in  the  spring  of 
1860.  Colonel  Avery  is  not  a  tactician,  but  makes  up  in 
dash  his  deficiency  in  drill.  There  were  no  braver  men 
in  the  army  than  Tom.  Avery.  His  failure  to  advance  in 
the  line  of  promotion  was  his  indisposition  to  sue  for  favors 
justly  due  him.  Colonel  Charles  C.  Henderson,  command- 


68  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

eel  the  40th  Tennessee.  Henderson  was  socially  a  gen 
tleman,  yet  tyrannical  and  unpopular  jvith.  his  command. 
Major  Higgins,  of  the  Fortieth,  is  an  old  veteran,  having 
served  through  the  Mexican  war  with  much  credit,  is  of 
pleasant  address,  and  is  one  of  the  best  officers  in  the  divi 
sion,  highly  respected  by  the  entire  command.  Major 
Cansler,  of  my  regiment,  while  endowed  with  personal 
courage,  was  not  a  disciplinarian  or  thorough  tactician, 
yet  made  a  pretty  fair  officer. 

We  give  a  synopsis  of  the  evacuation  and  surrender: 
Sunday,  April  the  6th,  1862,  we  move  from  the  front  of 
the  island,  (as  we  were  informed,)  for  the  purpose  of  re 
pelling  an  attack  of  the  enemy,  were  halted  at  midnight, 
marched  again  the  next  day,  lay  in  the  mud  all  night  in 
Eeelfoot  Lake  swamp,  and  were  notified  on  the  morning 
of  the  8th,  that  we  were  surrendered  prisoners  of  war. 
While  half  buried  in  the  mud  and  water,  we  were  cheered 
by  the  presence  of  Captain  Johnson,  and  Lieutenants 
John  Kirk  and  Robert  Malone,  of  Tennessee,  whose 
gallantry  was  of  no  avail,  as  the  passing  gun-boat  had 
annihilated  their  battery.  The  only  escape  of  importance 
was  Captain  Wheeler,  with  his  company  of  cavalry. 
The  effective  force  surrendered  was  eighteen  hundred 
(1800)  infantry,  the  Point  Coupe  artillery,  consisting  of 
five  brass  pieces,  commanded  by  that  splendid  officer, 
Captain  Thompson,  with  his  two  chivalric  and  gentle 
manly  Lieutenants,  D'Aubizne  and  Legendre. 

After  the  surrender,  we  were  detained  at  Tiptonville 
twenty-four  hours  in  a  drenching  rain,  barely  anything  to 
eat,  and  as  most  of  us  had  eat  nothing  for  two  days,  and 
had  been  marching  and  lying  in  the  rain  and  mud  without 
shelter  of  any  kind,  we  were  in  a  miserable  plight.  I  will 
ever  feel  grateful  to  Captain  Sterling,  of  the  Twenty- 
second  Illinois,  Captain  Lathrop,  of  Cincinnati,  Captain 
Crittenden,  of  the  cavalry,  who  accompanied  us  to  Camp 
Chase,  and  who,  with  the  officers  above  mentioned,  were 
marked  by  kind  and  considerate  treatment  towards  their 
prisoners.  Captain  Steiner,  of  balloon  notoriety,  and  his 
amiable  lady,  of  Philadelphia,  are  remembered  for  their 
courtesy  to  the  writer.  Major  Nixon,  of  Ohio,  who  had 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  69 

charge  of  us  from  Tiptonville  to  Columbus,  Ohio,  while 
true  to  his  flag,  was  one  of  the  most  humane  men  and 
perfect  gentlemen  I  ever  met.  We  were  placed  on  board 
the  "  Emma,"  carried  to  New  Madrid ;  thence  to  Cairo 
and  to  Camp  Chase.  To  sum  up,  we  were  sacrificed  not 
by  General  Mackall,  but  by  the  government,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  holding  in  check  the  column  of  General  Pope,  to 
prevent  his  uniting  with  Halleck ;  for  had  the  gun-boats 
passed  ten  days  before,  the  morale  of  our  army  at  Shiloh 
would  have  been  destroyed ;  hence,  in  justice  to  General 
Mackall,  we  assert  positively,  that  he  was  in  no  way 
responsible  for  the  surrender. 

We  have  omitted  the  floating  battery  in  our  mention 
of  the  guns.  This  impromptu  affair  wras  commanded  by 
Captain  Averitt,  formerly  of  the  United  States  Navy,  an 
officer  of  nerve  and  intelligence.  He  had  four  guns. 
This,  with  the  battery  of  the  Southern  Guards,  and  the  five 
brass  pieces  of  the  Point  Coupe  Artillery,  two  small  mortars, 
more  ornamental  than  otherwise,  make  a  grand  total  of 
fifty-three  guns,  the  great  portion  of  which  were  of  light 
metal.  The  enemy  report  the  capture  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty.  We  surrendered  not  exceeding  twenty-six 
hundred  men  ;  the  enemy  report  seven  thousand.  They 
publish  the  capture  of  seven  generals ;  wTe  had  one,  and 
tAVO  acting  brigadiers.  If  there  is  any  glory  in  such  a 
capture,  the  bombastic  Pope  is  welcome  to  it. 

The  above  is  furnished  as  a  refutation  of  the  many 
falsehoods  that  paid  and  partial  historians  are  flooding  the 
country  with,  and  in  hopes  that  the  impartial  historian 
will  discriminate  between  the  official  report  of  a  General 
who  never  won  a  battle,  and  the  statement  of  the  writer 
that  will  be  endorsed  by  two  hundre'd  confederate  officers 
captured  at  Island  10. 


70  SCKAPS  FEOM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE  AUTHOR  PROVES  HIMSELF  SOMEBODY  TO  HIS  OWN  SATISFACTION. 
—PHILOSOPHICAL  TRUTHS.— GREEK  SHIP  JERUSALEM.— FORTUNE 
TELLING.— OUR  CUSTODIANS,  MAJOR  PIERSON  AND  OTHERS.— COL- 
ONEL  BATTEL  AND  THE  YANKEE  PARSON  ELY  AND  HIS  BOOK.— 
COLONEL  MOODY  OF  CAMP  CHASE.— AN  AGED  MOTHER  AND  HER 
SON.— OUR  BATHING  FACILITIES.— THE  POWER  OF  FORCES  AND 
POLITICAL  PERSONALITIES.— CLEMENS,  OF  TENNESSEE.— HARRIS, 
OF  MARYLAND.— CRITTENDEN,  OF  KENTUCKY.— HORACE  L.  DAY, 
OF  NEW  1  ORK,  AND  OTHERS. 

WHO  am  I?  a  prisoner  of  hope?  No,  of  war,  not  of 
"Chillon"  or  of  "Ham,"  but  of  Johnson's  island, 
three  miles  from  Sandusky  City,  in  the  beautiful  bay  of 
Sandusky,  the  placid  child  of  that  angry  mother,  Lake 
Erie,  and  here  I  expect  to  remain,  at  least  until  I  linieh 
my  story,  as  I  am  not  a  Leander,  certainly  too  moral 
for  a  Byron,  and  Sandusky  bay  is  wider  and  fiercer  than 
Hellespont.  How  came  I  here?  I  answer  ala  "Olive" 
jPecavi.  I  have  scinde  (sinned).  Why  did  I  ?  I  don't 
know.  It  may  be  because  the  sins  of  the  fathers  are 
visited  upon  their  children,  even  unto  the  third  and  fourth 
generations,  and  this  is  my  second  or  third,  I  don't 
remember  which.  Feeling  informs  me  "I  was  brought 
here  by  certain  officials,  y'clept  Federal  officers. "  Judg 
ment  says,  the  law,  evidence  and  fact  was  a  strong  in 
centive  to  the  motive  power  that  "  boosted"  "  ye  humble 
historian,"  and  transferred  him  from  Southern  heather 
to  the  turf  of  not  Yankee-doodledorn,  but  the  terra  finna 
of  the  mighty  West,  the  future  base  of  the  balance  of 
power  of  the  broad  domain  of  the  Continent  of  America, 
and  as  the  equity  of  my  case  is  in  the  military  court,  with 
a  packed  jury,  I  am  condemned  dejacto,  but  not  de  jure. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  71 

Iii  introducing  myself  so  unceremoniously  to  my 
readers,  I  will  endeavor  in  a  short  chapter,  to  make  my 
self  presentable,  as  a  caterer  to  the  literary  tastes  of  our 
prison-pen,  by  drawing  on  my  ancestry  for  present  pres 
tige,  not  that  my  grandfather  was  a  wonderful  man,  but 
it  is  necessary  in  the  chain,  as  proof  of  my  existence. 
"  It  is  a  wise  child  that  knows  its  father,"  it  is  a  much 
much  wiser  one  that  knows  its  grandfather.  My  grand 
father,  on  my  mother's  side,  was  one  of  the  largest  planters 
of  St.  Domingo,  having  emigrated  to  Cape  Francis,  his 
town  residence,  from  Nantz,  in  France.  'Twas  a  lovely 
spot  of  fruits  and  flowers,  and  balmy  air,  whose  exhala 
tions  were  as  ecstatic  as  the  soothing  charms  of  hasheesh, 
or  the  opium  of  D'Quincy,  whose  sweet  debility  was 
enervating  and  charmingly  relaxing,  making  the  limbs 
flexible,  the  passions  volatile,  the  physical  seductive,  all 
was  warmth  and  electricity.  Humanity  flourished  at  St. 
Domingo  like  some  rare  exotic  on  the  banks  of  the  Ganges, 
rich,  luxuriant,  tender  and  short-lived,  such  was  the  home 
of  my  grandfather.  For  more  evidences  of  the  beauties 
of  this  boquet  of  earthly  delights,  read  the  works  of 
Harriet  Martineau,  that  fanatical,  bold  and  impassioned 
writer. 

The  French  Revolution  sowed  the  seeds  of  disease  in 
the  body  politic  of  this  colonial  dependence  of  "  La  belle" 
France,  that  eventually  established  social  principles, 
which  sapped  the  virtue  of  the  Island.  Martial  rights 
were  disregarded,  and  the  more  congenial  custom  of 
placieing  a  connection  of  the  sexes  during  compatability. 
A  creation  of  the  Indies  was  adopted.  The  Creoles  who 
placied  with  the  women  of  the  Island,  many  of  whom  were 
beautiful,  sent  their  offspring  in  many  instances  to  France, 
where  they  were  educated,  by  which  their  crude  ideas  of 
liberty  were  directed  to  a  radical  change  of  the  peculiar 
institution  of  their  island  home.  This  inoculation  of  new 
ideas  of  freedom  developed  sad  results,  a  sharpening  of 
the  knife  whose  edge  was  destined  to  cut  morally,  social 
ly,  and  politically,  resulting  in  the  loss  to  my  grand 
father,  of  all  his  property,  and  the  massacre  of  all  his  re 
latives,  save  his  wife  and  two  children,  with  whom  he 


72  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

escaped  in  one  of  the  vessels.  That  enriched  Girard, 
loaded  as  it  was,  with  the  freight  of.  the  wealthy  island 
ers,  consigned  to  him,  they  expecting  to  follow,  a  hope 
never  realized.  Thus  enriching  that  wealthy  citizen  of 
the  Quaker  city,  and  enabling  him  to  lay  the  corner  stone 
of  the  mammoth  fortune,  which  while  its  fruits  beautify 
the  city  of  his  adoption,  and  furnishes  means  for  the  edu 
cation  of  the  grateful  youth  whose  orphanage  was  a  bless 
ing,  under  the  auspices  of  Stephen  Girard,  it  left  a  large 
relationship  with  shattered  hopes. 

My  grandfather  reached  Boston,  a  city  in  the  then 
United  States,  since  familiarly  known  as  the  "  Hub  of 
the  Universe,"  from  the  radical  felloes  in  it,  who  never 
tire  of  winning  into  extremes,  and  would  like  the  car  of 
Juggernaut  crush  their  defenseless  victims. 

In  time,  the  ancestral  tree  decayed  and  died,  leaving 
my  grandmother  and  eleven  children ;  they  lived  and 
flourished,  and  like  their  parent  stem  have  yielded  to  the 
strokes  of  time,  save  one,  God  bless  her. 

With  the  exception  of  one  uncle  lost  at  sea  fighting  the 
British,  another  going  to  sea  and  never  being  heard  from ; 
one  aunt  shipwrecked,  another  marrying  a  French  colonel, 
son  of  one  of  the  signers  of  the  death  wrarrant  of 
Louis  XVI.,  nothing  has  ever  occurred  worth  relating  in 
my  family,  except  the  following  story,  which  is  furnished 
the  reader  to  prove  that  remarkable  events  will  occur  even 
in  the  most  unimaginative  families.  Napoleon  says  that 
"  two-thirds  of  the  world  is  made  up  and  controlled  by 
the  imagination,"  yet  I  never  knew  but  one  case  in  my 
family,  which  yielded  to  its  potent  influence.  This  was 
my  aunt  who  flourished  in  the  capital  of  the  Bay  State, 
A.  D.  1812.  She  waa  then  a  frolicsome  girl  of  fifteen 
summers.  She  was  as  fair  a  flower  as  decked  the  beau 
tiful  mall  of  Boston,  and  glistened  amid  the  drooping 
branches  of  those  venerable  elms  that  stand  sentinels  to 
the  curtain  that  separates  the  happy  past  with  its  patri 
otism,  its  honesty  and  its  conceptions  of  liberty,  nurtured 
under  oppression  and  fledged  upon  Bunker  Hill.  From 
the  flimsy  present,  with  its  anarchy,  its  devotion  to  self- 
aggrandizement,  its  polished  chicanery,  and  its  whitened 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  73 

sepulchres  of  policy,  whose  emblems  should  be  a  cross 
representing  the  religious  fanaticism  in  the  North,  and 
the  raw-head  and  bloody  bones  of  abolition  hate — with 
such  a  banner  and  with  noisome  influence  as  destructive 
as  the  exhalations  of  the  Upas  tree  of  the  desert,  move 
the  elements  of  radical  progression — yet  the  old  elms 
stand  intact,  moaning  and  writhing  in  response  to  the 
whirlwind  of  passion,  that  fanaticism  has  sown  in  the 
land,  and  the  heart  of  the  country  is  now  reaping  in  blood 
and  tears.  The  heroine  of  this  chapter  was  buxom,  agile, 
and  blithe,  gentle,  merry,  and  mild,  a  faultless  figure,  a 
mass  of  golden  hair,  pearly  teeth,  and  cherry  lips,  a  laugh 
like  the  gurgle  of  some  limped,  silvery  crook,  with  a  cin- 
derella's  foot,  and  you  have  the  idol  of  the  school  room, 
the  pet  of  the  household,  and  the  brightest  gem  in  the 
casket  of  girl  jewels,  that  sparkled  in  the  solid  city. 

Why  it  was  that  nature  intended  something  should 
happen  to  this  fair  girl,  out  of  the  ordinary  course  of 
human  events,  I  know  not ;  I  only  know  that  the  story 
is  as  true  as  strange,  and  is  left  to  the  consideration  of 
those  who  believe  and  accept  the  principle,  that  if  mind 
and  matter  are  connected,  action  on  the  one  superinduces 
action  on  the  other ;  and  as  the  body  anticipates  its  physi 
cal  ills,  in  the  aching  bones  or  furred  tongue,  why  not  the 
mind  anticipate  its  ills  by  foreshadowings  or  dream-land 
images  ?  The  screen  that  separates  the  seen  from  the 
unseen  is  of  gossamer  texture  and  invites  the  searcher  to 
an  examination  of  hidden  love,  that  stimulated  the  Chal 
dean  and  the  wise  men  of  the  East  to  hope  that  occult 
science  and  astrological  scintillations  would  reveal  a 
golden  sun  of  intelligence,  in  the  clouded  skies  and  un 
sealed  book  of  nature.  All  nature  is  mysterious,  and  we 
are  surrounded  by  an  atmosphere  of  the  supernatural. 
At  times  we  feel  as  if  'twere  good  to  extend  the  hand  of 
fellowship,  and  to  proffer  the  embrace  of  love,  at  others, 
of  "  drawing  our  skirts  around  us  as  if  the  wing  of  some 
offending  angel  were  brushing  by,"  and  when  catching 
the  eye,  shrinking  as  from  a  basalisk.  It  is  a  vulgar 
saying,  "  speak  of  the  Devil,  Ins  imps  will  appear,"  yet, 
how  often,  when  in  a  crowded  assembly,  some  one  is 
6 


74  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

named,  and  his  character  ventilated,  and  the  subject  barely 
finished,  when  lo  !  the  owner  of  the  cognomen  appears. 
"  We  were  speaking  of  you,"  says  one,  and  all  chime  in 
with  corresponding  remarks.  The  electrical  influence  of 
the  positive,  has  struck  a  negative  chord,  and  the  vibration 
is  felt  throughout  the  circle.  The  negative  man  approaches 
and  mingles  in  the  circle,  attracts  no  attention,  is  unob 
served,  and  his  departure  leaves  no  void,  thus  illustrating 
the  mysterious  influence  of  the  positive,  and  negative  influ 
ence  in  man.  So  much  for  the  philosophy,  now  for  the 
story  itself.  It  was  customary,  in  the  good  old  days  gone 
by,  for  fortune-tellers  to  wander  round  the  outskirts  of 
cities,  erect  little  wigwams,  and  dispense  the  knowledge, 
gleaned  from  their  inventive  faculties  of  perception,  for 
pence  and  shillings.  These  Gipsies  were  lavish  of  prom 
ises,  to  seekers  after  an  insight  into  the  misty  future,  and 
many  a  Miss  has  left  the  Sybil  presence,  with  golden  rays 
of  imaginative  light,  shedding  a  halo  around  the  future 
bride  of  Duke  or  Count,  air  castles,  that  toppled  and  fell 
from  their  airy  height,  erected  by  maiden's  fancy  medita 
tion,  at  the  fount  of  Gipsical  incantation.  The  mechani 
cal  part  of  the  trade,  of  those  peregrinators  was  represented 
by  a  bottle,  whose  transparent  proportion  was  supposed 
to  reflect  the  destinies  of  those  who  sought  its  Delphic 
power.  Into  one  of  these  bottles  looked  my  heroine,  and 
what  did  she  see  ?  Let  the  Gipsy  tell  us  : 

"  So  young,  so  bouyant,  and  so  beautiful.  Would  that 
it  presaged  as  bright  a  future  !  And,  how  pitiable,  that 
thy  rosy  shadows  should  sink  into  the  dark  clouds  of  thy 
destiny ;  that  innocent,  thoughtless  laugh,  that  brings 
dimples  to  the  peach-like  cheek,  will  be  changed  to  a  sigh, 
as  ominous  as  that  of  the  drooping  willow ;  care  will 
supplant  thoughtlessness,  and  an  early  grave  will  receive 
the  blossom,  that  will  wilt  and  wither,  before  the  keen 
blasts  of  winter.  Shrinkest  thou  ?  'Tis  so  with  all  the 
children  of  Nature,  they  lack  experience.  I  have  seen 
the  snows  of  seventy  winters ;  have  blistered  my  feet 
upon  the  parched  and  burning  soil  of  the  tropics  ;  have 
wandered  among  heartless  crowds  in  the  world's  metro 
polis,  and  sought  eagerly  for  the  4  crumbs  that  fell  from 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.         75 

the  rich  man's  table  ;'  have  been  buffeted  and  spat  upon, 
as  an  out-cast.  I  have  found  that  all  nature  is  weak  and 
wicked  ;  that  it  is  susceptible  to  the  touch  of  imagina 
tion's  wand ;  that  the  sciences  seek  their  home  only  in 
the  mind  of  the  sufferer,  whose  disease  is  research,  and 
whose  lamp  of  life  is  cabalistic  knowledge,  incomprehen 
sible  only  to  the  unitiated,  and  my  experience  has  taught 
me,  to  shun,  as  I  would  a  pestilence,  that  spirit  whose 
soul  and  heart  is  engrossed  with  worldly  cares,  saying, 
4  Wherewith  shall  I  be  clothed ;'  who  never  sees  the  beau 
ties  of  the  stella  universe,  and  never  realizes  the  fructi 
fying  influences  of  the  solar  system — their  sun  rising  in 
the  midst  of  daily  cares,  and  its  meridian  splendor  alone 
seen  in  the  '  purple  and  fine-linen '  of  society,  and  wiiose 
setting  is  amidst  frustrated  plans,  and  disappointed  hopes. 

"  Such  is  the  life  of  those,  whose  opaqueness  shuts  out 
the  light  of  wisdom ;  such  their  [end  to  whom  the  secrets 
of  knowledge  remain  unrevealed.  I  turn  from  them — 
despairing  of  humanity — and  hope  in  the  study  of  Nature, 
to  catch  a  glimpse  of  that  religion,  that  emanates  from 
God  alone. 

"  But  to  my  task  :  I  see  a  strange  vessel,  from  a  distant 
land ;  it  nears  the  shore  ;  curious  costumes  attract  the 
eye  ;  strange  music  is  borne  upon  the  breeze  ;  she  reaches 
the  wharf  Lewis' ;  a  language,  unknown  to  the  mass,  is 
heard  on  her  deck ;  she  is  moored ;  the  Supercargo* 
lands,  and  is  received  by  a  prince  merchant  of  the  city. 
'Tis  evening  ;  the  scene — the  drawing-room  of  the  mer 
chants  house  ;  the  Supercargo  sits  on  the  right  of  his  host ; 
in  his  hand  is  a  golden  snuff-box ;  as  he  takes  a  pinch  of 
snuff,  a  fair-haieed  girl,  a  sister  by  marriage  of  the  mer 
chant  enters,  and  is  introduced  ;  the  Greek  is  fascinated, 
and  in  six  months  she  marries  the  stranger ;  time  devel- 
opes  two  pledges  of  affection ;  she  lives  a  period  of  time, 
bequeathed  to  flowers,  droops  and  dies.  Look  into  the 
bottle,  and  see — hesitate  not — thy  fate  is  mirrored  in  it. 
Thou  hast  courted  the  art  of  the  wierd  sister,  and  her  ora 
cles  have  been  partially  disclosed  to  thy  inquisitive  sense." 

*  The  Supercargo  was  Nicholas  Cieliterv  of  Smyrnia,  formerly  Greek  Consul 
to  Gibraltar. 


76          SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

Eighteen  months,  from  this  occurrence,  the  first  Greek 
ship,  the  "Jerusalem,"  that  arrived  in»  America,  anchored 
at  John  Lewis'*  wharf.  Her  Supercargo,  Nicholas  Cicli- 
teri,  formerly  Greek  Consul  to  Gibraltar,  a  gentleman  of 
superior  mind,  was  feated  and  feasted  by  the  hospitality 
of  the  city.  Among  the  most  distinguished  of  his  hosts 
was  John:  Lewis,  who  gave  him  a  reception  ;  and  was  in 
the  act  of  accepting  a  pinch  of  snuff  from  his  guest,  when 
all  were  startled  by  the  fainting  of  the  sister-in-law  of  the 
host,  who  had  at  that  moment  stepped  into  the  room. 
Six  months  after,  she  was  led  to  the  altar,  by  the  Greek. 
She  lived  a  few  short  summers,  faded  into  death,  leaving 
a  disconsolate  husband,  and  two  sweet  children. 

The  above  is  true.  It  could  not  have  been  prophetic, 
but  was  simply  an  exhibition  of  that  wonderful  perceptive 
faculty,  that  draws  heavily  upon  the  marvelous,  for  its 
inspirations,  yet  is  guided  by  the  same  mysterious  and 
natural  law,  that,  if  studied  by  a  devotee,  will  in  time 
enable  him,  to  give  a  spirit,  interrogated  language  of  his 
own  creation,  to  respond.  So  keenly  sympathetic  will  be 
natural,  mental  alliances.  If  you  can  look  into  a  man's 
eye,  and  see,  what  he  will  do,  why  not  look  into  the  same 
mirror,  and  know,  what  he  will  say  ? 

However,  as  I've  given  the  history  of  the  only  remark 
able  member  of  my  family,  on  the  maternal  side  of  my 
house,  I  now  shift  rapidly  to  the  paternal.  My  grand 
father  was  a  Roman,  and  my  grandmother  a  Genoese. 
They  moved  to  Marseilles,  France,  a  city  settled  by  the 
Phocians,  2,600  years  ago.  My  grandfather  was  one  of 
the  five  hundred  Marseillese,  who  marched  five  hundred 
and  thirty-five  miles  on  foot  to  Paris,  and  assisted  in  the 
grand  denouement!  of  1 793.  So  much  were  they  imbued 
with  the  spirit  of  "  Down  with  the  aristocrats,"  that  the 
other  Jacobin  factions  were  compelled  to  quarter  the  dark 
visaged,  more  southern  rebels,  outside  the  city  wall,  to 
keep  them  from  raiding  on  tamer  rad's,  so  eager  were 
they  for  blood. 


*  John  Lewis,  owner  of  Lewis1  wharves,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of 
the  many  solid  merchants  of  Boston, 
f  Two-thirds  of  the  author's  relatives  were  killed  during  the  massacre. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  77 

Coming  from  such  a  stock — one  grandfather  inciting  the 
Revolution  of  '93  in  France,  that  resulted  to  the  injury 
of  the  other  grandfather,  in  St.  Domingo,  who  with 
the  army  of  Lafayette,  fought  for  American  liberty 
at  Yorktown.  In  view  of  the  above  facts,  can  you 
wonder,  that  your  humble  author  should  partake  of  that 
rebellious  blood,  that  sparkled  in  the  war  of  '61.  I  did 
not,  when  this  inherited  spirit  moved  me,  feel  that  my 
destiny  would  be  recorded  in  golden  letters,  Veni,  Vidi, 
Vici;  and  if  I  did,  I  was  sadly  mistaken,  as  the  following 
brevity,  not  as  classical,  but  more  applicable,  has  been 
forced  upon  me — Going — Gone — Gone  up. 

So  far,  you  have  had  glimmerings  of  me  and  mine,  and 
I  hope  you  will  pardon  the  egotism  of  the  chronicle. 
And,  thus  I  end  the  chapter,  in  which  I  have  proved  I  am 
somebody,  that  my  grandfathers  were  not  "wonderful 
men,"  and,  although  not  a  Japhet,  I  knew  my  grand 
fathers  a  step  beyond  Maryatt.  I  have  introduced  much 
of  the  wonderful,  have  verged  on  German  scholasticism, 
I  have  told  nothing  but  the  truth,  which  must  be  accept 
able  to  the  most  opaque  cranium,  which  is :  that  what  is, 
is  ;  but  how  it  is — why,  that's  the  question. 

Major  W.  S.  Pierson,  commanding  post.  Pierson  says, 
he  acts  under  the  directions  of  Colonel  Hoffman,  general 
superintendent  of  military  prisons,  a  lately  released  pa 
roled  prisoner  himself,  captured  by  General  Twiggs.  This 
may  be  so,  but  if  so,  we  are  deceived  in  the  man,  as 
Hoffman  looks  like  a  soldier,  and  could  not  countenance 
the  doings  of  a  subordinate,  so  inconsistent  with  the 
character  of  a  soldier  and  gentleman.  Major  Pierson  is 
of  Sandusky,  Ohio,  owns  several  flouring  mills,  and, 
although  he  doesn't  recognize  them  in  the  working  up  of 
flour  for  prisoners,  highly  recommends  them.  He  is  an 
arrant  hypocrite,  and  would  make  an  elegant  lobby-mem 
ber,  if  he  had  brains.  His  rules,  as  adopted  and  exhibited 
in  this  connection,  wrere  published,  when  the  Rebellion 
was  a  thing  of  ninety  days,  and  we  were  arch-traitors  of 
the  deepest  dye.  Events  since,  have  placed  us  in  a  differ 
ent  position,  and  from  rebels  we  have  been  transmognified 
into  a  million  of  Revolutionists.  Even  old  Pierson  appre- 


78  SCRAPS  FEOM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

ciates  the  change ;  but  the  rules  remain,  and  their  barbaric 
letter  has  caused  the  murder  of  oue  officer,  and  the 
maiming  of  another.  Pierson  is  a  harmless  individual, 
ostensibly,  but  is  a  dangerous  man  in  the  dark. 

Captain  Follett  is  of  some  fifty  winters,  stern,  taciturn, 
and  with  little  of  the  milk  of  human  kindness  in  his  com 
position  ;  takes  a  delight  in  irritating  those,  whom  the 
fortunes  of  war  have  thrown  under  his  charge,  and  is  a 
bear  generally.  He  is  sound  on  the  punctillious  of  mili 
tary  etiquette,  a  great  stickler  for  profound  respect  from 
his  subalterns,  and  is  a  despot  in  a  small  way. 

Captain  Scovill  is  an  officer  that  has  the  bearing  and 
appearance  of  a  soldier,  and  would  pass  for  a  gentleman 
anywhere  but  in  Hoffman's  battalion.  As  he  who  "  touch- 
eth  pitch  is  defiled,"  so  is  he  socially  damned,  who  affiliates 
with  Hoffman's  battalion. 

Lieutenant  Benson  is  a  forbidding  character,  but  can't 
be  held  responsible  for  his  personal  appearance  ;  with  his 
red  hair,  and  bow  legs,  he  looks  like  a  clown  in  his  mili 
tary  habiliments.  He  is  a  shoemaker  by  trade,  and  had 
much  better  have  stuck  to  his  last.  He  has  made  himself 
obnoxious,  to  the  entire  prison  community,  by  his  boorish 
disposition,  and  his  ruffian  manners,  and  will  catch  many 
a  castigation,  if  the  chances  of  the  field  should  throw  him 
in  the  way  of  some  of  our  gallant  men,  he  has  so  often 
wantonly  insulted.  With  little  brain,  and  overweaning 
vanity,  he  is  a  patched  up  specimen  of  half  shoemaker,  and 
half  "melish,"  he  will  never  do  anybody  any  harm,  unless 
he  should  have  a  prisoner  assassinated,  which,  'tis  said, 
he  attempted.  Benson  is  also  from  Sandusky,  a  city  of 
ten  thousand  inhabitants,  which,  up  to  this  writing,  has 
sent  but  one  company  to  the  war,  and  outside  of  the 
infernal  regions,  is  the  blackest  Abolition  hole  in  existence. 

Lieutenant  Wells,  post  adjutant,  performs  his  duties 
faithfully,  and  is  a  good  officer,  and  a  gentleman.  •  Lieu 
tenant  Lennelle,  is  a  negative  character,  yet  is  attentive 
to  our  wants,  and  makes  himself  acceptable  to  the  pris 
oners.  There  are  several  other  officers,  whom  I'll  pass, 
to  avoid  the  charge,  of  writing  to  fill  up.  Many  of  the 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  79 

officers  have  their  families  with  them.  To  one  of  them, 
Dr.  Woodbridge's,  we  are  indebted  for  many  courtesies. 

After  the  capture  of  Colonel  Battel,*  (one  of  our  most 
distinguished  fellow  prisoners,)  he  was  first  taken  to  St. 
Louis,  and  while  on  the  boat,  ascending  the  river,  was 
anxiously  hunted  by  the  curious  passengers,  who  had  never 
seen  a  "  secesh,"  and  who  were  astonished  at  the  hand 
some  and  veteran-like  appearance  of  the  gallant  colonel. 
Colonel  Battel  attempted  to  avoid  them,  but  finding  it 
impossible,  retreated  to  the  pilot-house  of  the  boat,  wThere 
he  was  soon  followed  by  the  eager  crowd,  among  whom 
was  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  who  instead  of  preaching 
"  Christ,  and  him  crucified,"  was  stimulating  volunteers 
to  fight  their  Southern  brethren.  This  wolf  in  sheep's 
clothing  walked  into  the  pilot  house,  and  with  that  indeli 
cacy  and  effrontery,  that  could  only  emanate  from  a  bad 
man,  or  fool,  asked  Colonel  Battel,  if  he  had  any  objection 
to  kneeling,  and  uniting  with  him  in  pcayer.  "  Of  course 
not."  The  so-called  saint  offered  up  a  prayer,  for  the 
United  States,  and  for  the  destruction  of  all  her  enemies, 
and  rebels  in  particular.  On  concluding,  the  colonel 
thanked  him,  and  asked  if  he  and  the  rest  would  unite 
with  him  in  prayer,  something,  I  am  confident,  Colonel 
Battel  never  did  before  in  public.  The  response  was  in 
the  affirmative,  and  at  it  the  colonel  went,  praying  with  a 
will,  for  the  Southern  Confederacy,  and  the  destruction 
of  all  her  enemies,  and  Yankees  in  general ;  and,  rising 
from  his  knees,  exclaimed  with  an  air,  as  only  those  who 
know  Colonel  Battel,  as  we  do  in  prison,  can  appreciate : 
"  Now,  I'll  bet  you,  or  any  other  man,  a  hundred  dollars, 
that  my  prayer  reaches  Heaven  first."  The  colonel 
assures  us,  he  was  not  troubled  by  vulgar  curiosity  the 
rest  of  the  trip. 

I  have  seen  Ely's  book,  and  as  those  who  read  my 
"scraps,"  may  say,  "they  are  trashy,"  many  of  them  at 
least,  I,  as  a  true  historian,  will  pronounce  a  similar  ver 
dict  upon  Ely's,  and  state  that,  whereas,  Tom  Benton's 
book  was  one-third  Benton's,  and  two-thirds  Jackson's, 

*  Colonel  Battel,  farming  in  Tennessee. 


80  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

Ely's  is  two-thirds  the  Honorable  Alfred  Ely,  M.  C.,  of 
New  York,  that  many  ladies  sent  boquets  and  writing- 
desks  to,  (so  he  says,)  and  who  made  a  great  many 
speeches,  during  the  ovations,  offered  up  to  his  royal  high 
ness,  on  his  release  from  durance  vile.*  He  also  refused 
audiences  to  petitioners,  many  of  them  the  most  distin 
guished  men  of  the  South,  (so  he  says,)  in  fact  they  an 
noyed  him,  so  great  was  the  desire  to  see  Ball  Run  Ely. 
The  other  third  of  his  book  is  devoted  to  a  wholesale 
abuse  of  Southern  officials.  The  book  is  a  humbug  gener 
ally,  which  is  easily  accounted  for,  when  we  state  that  its 
author  is  originally  from  the  land  of  wooden  nutmegs; 
yet  his  books  will  out-sell  my  "  scraps,"  because  our  people 
have  been  so  accustomed,  to  being  overwhelmed  with  the 
yellow-covered  trash  of  the  North,  that  it  will  take  time  to 
eradicate  it.  Ely  places  great  stress  on  the  style  of  sheets  he 
received,  (we  have  none.)  He  speaks  of  his  treatment  by 
Confederate  officers :  our  rolls  are  called  by  a  sergeant, 
of  eighteen  years  of  age,  who,  with  an  impudent  air,  or 
ders,  "  Fall  in,  boys,  I'm  in  a  hurry,"  and  this  to  his 
seniors  in  age,  rank,  position,  and  everything  that  consti 
tutes  a  man,  soldier,  and  gentleman.  Ely,  it  is  true,  was 
a  distinguished  civilian,  and  should  have  had  the  fourth 
sheet,  as,  in  my  humble  opinion,  he  was  three  of  them  in 
the  wind  at  Bull  Run,  or  he  would  not,  with  his  Connec 
ticut  shrewdness,  been  caught  napping.  To  close  up,  it 
is  difficult  to  decide,  which  is  the  greatest  humbug:  Ely, 
or  his  book. 

Most  of  us  will  remember  old  Mood}r;  at  least  those  of 
us  that  passed  the  ordeal  of  camp  Chase,  with  its  mud, 
filth,  and  disease.  I  could  give  this  worthy's  history  in 
one  word,  as  easily  as  it  is  stamped  upon  his  forehead, 
but  the  application  will  do  no  good,  and  hence  the  long- 
eared  allusion  is  left  out.  Colonel  Moody  was  a  preacher, 
a  bigot,  and  religious  humbug.  If  any  being  in  the  world 
has  a  respect  for  religion,  or  an  appreciation  of  its  dis 
ciples,  and  teachers,  'tis  the  author,  but  if  any  one  is 
disgusted  with  the  charlatanism  of  the  profession,  and  the 

*  Ely  has  never  been  heard  of  since.    "  Alas  !  poor  Yorick." 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  81 

quackery  of  priestcraft,  I  am  that  man.  I  remember  a 
scene,  that  impressed  me  with  the  peculiarities  of  one  of 
the  different  sects.  I  was  in  Marseilles,  France,  on  a 
narrow  street  of  stone,  that  one  could  jump  across,  tall 
and  frowning  buildings  of  the  same  material  arose  on 
either  side,  shutting  out  the  fructifying  rays  of  the  God 
of  day.  I  sat  at  the  window,  of  one  of  these  buildings,  on 
the  Mediteranean,  five  thousand  miles  from  home.  It 
was  twilight  and  the  darkening  shades  of  evening  seemed 
more  sombre,  and  had  none  of  the  softness  of  the  twilight 
of  a  more  northern  latitude.  I  felt  dull,  warm,  and  unwell, 
as  I  peered  into  the  twilight  shadows,  from  my  little 
casement  on  the  Rue  Mauvestis,  No.  1.  A  dull,  ominous 
sound  broke  upon  the  stillness  of  the  gloom,  seemingly 
an  unearthly  chant,  doleful,  melancholy,  vocal  rumblings 
o'er  the  boulders  of  the  narrow  street.  I  listened  nerv 
ously,  feeling  the  weight  of  some  pressure,  as  the  mariner, 
when  the  falling  barometer  indicates  the  coming  storm, 
straining  my  ears  to  listen,  I  could  hear  the  tramp  of 
clogged  feet,  they  came  nearer,  and  a  procession  of 
priests,  like  some  dark  cloud  shadowing  the  street,  turned 
the  abrupt  angle  of  the  corner,  their  long  black  skirts  and 
three  cornered  hats,  heavy  clogs,  and  black  masks,  from 
which  flashed  the  eyes  of  the  fiery  southern  Frenchman, 
was  an  impressive  spectacle.  In  front  of  the  procession 
was  a  group  of  the  same,  carrying  flambeaux,  whose 
yellowish,  sickly  glare,  gave  a  deeper  tinge  of  melancholy 
to  the  moving  column  of  sable-hued  chanters,  the  hollow- 
ness  of  their  tread,  'midst  the  grim  blocks  of  granite, 
which  seemed  to  shake  their  mossy  locks  with  the  rocking 
arms  and  flowing  skirts  of  the  priests,  seemed  sepulchral 
and  unearthly.  They  disappear,  and  I  asked  the  charac 
ter  of  the  procession.  "It  is  an  order  of  mercy,  now  on  a 
mission  to  a  sick  and  dying  brother ;  what  do  you  think 
of  it  ?"  In  America  a  man  is  not  asked,  what  his  religion 
or  politics  are;  the  question  is,  "Is  he  an  honest  man, 
and  a  gentleman?  (But  it  is  not  so  to-day.)  My  private 
opinion  was  that  the  leader  of  such  a  procession  was  of 
the  same  l  i  getting  up"  as  Moody,  either  a  knave,  which 
in  parson  Moody's  case  can  be  accepted  if  you  will,  or  an 


82  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

enthusiastic  fanatic,  a  dangerous  element  in  any  circle. 
Moody  inclines  more  to  the  latter  cjass.  Such  men  at 
the  head  of  churches,  with  the  entre  of  the  family  circle, 
create  much  mischief,  causing  irreligion  in  the  former, 
and  contaminating  the  latter.  Moody,  from  ignorance, 
rather  than  indisposition^  is  not  as  dangerous  as  others  of 
his  class,  but  would  be  just  the  man  to  march  down  the 
streets  of  Marseilles,  with  about  an  American  dollar's 
worth  of  hair,  (in  shape,)  cut  from  his  head,  surmounted 
by  a  chapeau,  and  chanting  some  unearthly  strain,  par 
ticularly  if  a  verse,  could  be  brought  in,  anathamatising 
Dixie  and  Secesh  generally.  Moody  would  rob  a  church, 
maltreat  a  captive,  (which  he  has  done  time  and 
again.)  To  sum  up,  Moody  is  a  long-eared  individual, 
whose  name  is  not  allowed  to  sully  these  pages,  and  much 
taste  has  been  sacrificed  in  introducing  Moody. 

Last  evening,  about  9  o'clock,  a  member  of  one  of  the 
messes  left  his  room,  to  go  after  a  bucket  of  water.  He 
was  a  German,  and  did  not  know  that  two  and  two  made 
four  in  English,  and,  of  course,  was  hardly  responsible 
for  any  act,  that  did  not  conform  with  the  letter  of  the  law 
of  our  prison  rules,  which  forbade,  under  the  severe  regime 
at  Johnson's  island:  going  out  after  retreat,  (as  mentioned 
in  scrap  relating  to  the  killing  of  Lieutenant  Gibson,)  he 
deliberately  took  his  bucket,  walked  to  the  well,  some 
forty  or  fitly  steps  from  the  building,  and  commenced 
pumping.  It  certainly  did  not  look  like  an  attempt  to 
escape,  but  afforded  a  splendid  opportunity,  to  a  dozen 
warriors  on  the  fence,  who  were  ambitious  for  distinction, 
and  burning  with  a  desire  to  murder  a  rebel,  thus  placing 
themselves  in  the  line  of  promotion.  ' 4  Halt !  halt ! "  was 
heard  over  the  campus,  "but  our  Teutonic  veteran  did  not 
understand,  and  walked  quietly  back  to  his  quarters. 
Bang !  bang !  went  the  missiles,  fired  with  a  will,  by  a 
dozen  sentinels,  but  without  effect,  as,  most  fortunately 
for  the  health  of  our  comrade,  it  was  dark,  and  the  aim  of 
our  custodians  erring.  After  passing  through  unscathed, 
the  shower  of  buck  and  ball,  that  ricochetted,  (much  to 
the  annoyance  of  the  prisoners,  who  were  protected  only 
by  half-inch  plank,)  over  the  campus.  Germany  was 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  83 

triumphant,  drank  his  water,  and  tumbled  into  his  bunk. 
In  a  few  moments,  the  officer  of  the  day  came  in,  and  was 
directed  to  the  room  in  which  the  author  of  the  alarm 
was  quietly  reposing,  and  on  entering,  inquired  if  any  one 
was  hurt. 

4 'Ask  the  Dutchman." 

" Well,  sir,  are  you  hurt?" 

"Mein  Gott!  no,  I  vants  vater,  and  den  I  vants  sleep, 
you  pe  tarn." 

It  was  a  narrow  escape,  and  the  poor  fellow,  who  was 
one  of  the  few  private  soldiers,  who  had  not  been  trans 
ferred  to  another  prison,  barely  escaped,  having  his  name 
recorded  in  this  book,  as  one  of  the  prisoners  at  Johnson's 
island,  who  "are  so  well  treated.''1  What  reason  our 
custodians  can  present,  to  clear  their  skirts  of  this 
cruelty,  is  beyond  my  comprehension. 

An  aged  mother  comes  one  thousand  miles,  to  see  her 
darling  boy,  a  mere  youth,'  who  will  be  exchanged  in  a  few 
days,  and  it  is,  possibly',  the  last  opportunity  he  may  have 
on  earth,  of  receiving  a  mother's  blessing.  The  mother 
prays  to  the  relentless  fiend  in  charge  of  us,  to  see  her 
son  but  for  one  moment,  but  it  is  denied.  Cut-throats  of 
every  character,  and  the  vilest  of  criminals  have  had  the 
boon  granted  them,  of  seeing  loved  ones  pending  trial,  or 
prior  to  execution.  In  the  Netherlands,  criminals  con 
demned  to  solitary  confinement  for  life,  are  brought  out 
once  a  year,  and  placed  upon  a  platform,  where  relatives 
can  see  them,  and  they  can  breathe  the  free  air  of  Heaven. 
It  seems  to  be  reserved  for  the  United  States  government, 
through  their  instruments,  to  out-Herod  Herod  in  acts  of 
cruelty.  The  mother  did  not  see  her  son,  and  returned 
home  sick  at  heart,  and  disconsolate.  The  gallant  boy 
loved  his  mother  with  a  devotion,  known  only  to  the  good 
and  brave,  but  sacrificed  the  sweetest  feeling  of  his  heart, 
rather  than  take  the  4  4  oath, "  and  thus  turn  his  back  upon 
the  glorious  colors,  he  had  sworn  to  defend.  This  is  but 
another  link  to  Pierson's  endless  chain  of  cruelties. 

Fearing  that  the  one  tin  pan  business,  to  a  mess  of  fifty 
men  might,  possibly  breed  contagion,  which  it  has  in  some 
of  the  messes,  as  many  of  my  comrades  are  aware,  who 


84  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

have  the  singular  disease,  unnecessary  to  mention  on  this 
page,  and  which,  I  am  confident,  is  .from  the  effects  of 
proper  ablutions  not  being  indulged  in,  in  consideration 
of  which,  our  dispenser  of  indulgences,  has  concluded  to 
allow  us  the  bath,  not  a  "Turkish"  one,  with  its  ex 
perience  of  "tepidarium,"  "calidarium,"  "lavotorium," 
"spray  douche,"  and  "plunge,"  but  a  "  Sandusky  bay" 
one,  giving  each  pore  an  opportunity  of  expressing  its 
delight  in  a  moisture  of  health.  "  Cleanliness  is  akin  to 
Godliness,"  and  there  is  a  woful  lack  of  the  former  in  our 
prison,  where  "it  is  water,  water  everywhere,  but  not  a 
drop  to  wash"  But  the  great  chief  of  our  custodians  is 
to  let  a  few  of  us  out  this  afternoon,  provided  that  Colo 
nel  Battel,  and  a  few  other  officers  of  regular  habits,  will 
guarantee  that  we  will  not  attempt  to  swim  out,  and  seize 
the  little  boat  and  twelve-pound  howitzer,  capture  Hoff 
man's  battallion,  or  do  any  of  those  desperate  deeds,  that 
have  made  rebels  so  famous.  Colonel  Battel  has  vouched 
'for  us,  and  six  hundred  of  us,  unarmed,  are  splashing, 
dashing,  diving,  and  ducking,  and  a  few  disciples  of  old 
Isaac  Walton,  are  fishing,  and  it  is  a  piscatorial  fact,  that 
fish  were  caught  by  Confederates,  in  spite  of  the  antics 
and  noise  incidental  to  the  bathing  of  six  hundred  pris 
oners.  A  line  of  bayonets  bristled  at  intervals  on  the 
beach,  and  now  and  then  one  would  be  lowered,  and  a 
bead  drawn  on  some  unwary  prisoner,  who  had  swam  a 
little  beyond  the  limits  allowed.  But  bathing,  as  well  as 
all  material  things,  must  have  an  end,  and  one  by  one  the 
prisoners  come  out  of  the  once  limpid  bay,  arrange  their 
toilet,  and  prepare  for  the  inner  walls. 

Now  the  harpooning  commences,  the  fun  being  strictly 
on  the  side  of  the  guards.  After  all  are  in,  as  supposed, 
the  sentinels,  with  their  bayonets,  walk  leisurely  along 
the  edge  of  the  water,  and  like  the  whaler,  who  longs  for 
blubber,  with  harpoon  in  rest,  launches  it  out  at  the 
mighty  leviathan  of  old  ocean,  so  do  these  harpooners  of 
rebels,  dash  their  bayonets  into  the  weeds  and  brush  that 
line  the  shore,  certain  to  pin  a  poor  fellow,  should  he  be 
indiscreet  enough  to  imagine  he  could  escape  in  that 
way. 


SCRAPS  FEOM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  85 

"Ah,  I  have  you,  you  d — d  rebel,"  says  one  of  the 
Plutonic  excresences  of  the  island,  as  he  barely  misses 
pinning  to  the  bottom  of  the  lake  the  form  of  an  officer, 
who  vainly  attempted  to  escape  in  such  manner,  ' '  get  up 
and  get,  you  are  booked  for  the  blackhole,  d — m  you." 

I  don't  think  any  more  of  the  officers  will  risk  the 
bayonet  of  these  military  fishermen.  This  is  the  last  of 
August ;  I  have  been  out  twice,  but  a  thousand  pores 
express  their  gratitude  for  that  much  indulgence. 
"  Thou  shalt  be  a  Bishop,"  Pierson,  aye,  a  Pope,  Leo,  if 
it  please  thee,  for  thy  many  indulgences,  for  the  many 
horns  thou  hast  stolen  from  us,  will  enable  thee  to  issue 
as  many  bulk,  as  the  energetic  pontiff  aforesaid. 

In  a  former  chapter,  I  reached  from  1793  to  1812,  in 
my  chronicle.  The  want  of  connection,  that  I  discovered, 
after  reviewing  it,  did  not  dissatisfy  me,  because,  as  a 
prisoner  of  war,  I  have  a  consciousness,  that  could  I 
have  made  the  proper  connections,  and  had  my  time-table 
been  regulated,  I  would  not  have  been  in  durance.  But, 
as  in  the  opening  of  this  work,  we  have  compiled  a 
synopsis  of  the  political  history  of  the  country,  we  deem 
our  failure  to  connect,  from  1812  to  the  present,  a  matter 
of  no  moment,  as  all  deficiencies  are  supplied  by  the 
synopsis  aforesaid. 

Yet,  to  please  my  fellow  prisoners,  I  will  give  a  few 
private  political  histories,  as  lessons,  for  those  who  seek 
the  "  bubble  reputation,"  in  the  whirlpool  of  politics.  In 
the  long  line  of  distinguished  men,  who  have  filled  the 
position  of  chief  executive  of  the  nation,  General  Jackson 
was  one  of  the  most  prominent.  His  star  appeared  in 
1828.  He  was  Adamized  and  canonized,  ran  his  course, 
yet  left  much  for  the  future  to  war  over,  and  work  out. 
There  is  a  bust  of  the  General  on  Court  Square,  in  the 
city  of  Memphis,  an  intense  Receding  corporation,  with 
the  magical  letters  :  "  The  Federal  Union  must  and  shall 
be  preserved."  This  bust  was  there,  March  the  1st,  1862, 
nine  months  from  the  vote,  unanimously,  save  five,  of  the 
city  for  secession,  as  unterrified,  and  seeming  as  ready  to 
swear,  "By  the  Eternal,  Tennessee  shall  not  secede." 
Jackson's  spirit  still  lives  in  his  bust,  proving  the  influence 


86  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

of  his  mind,  over  matter,  as  explained  in  the  theory  of 
forces. 

The  animal,  vegetable,  and  mineral  kingdoms,  are  the 
elements,  that  all  our  physical  draughts  are  made  upon, 
and  into  which  we  resolve,  after  we  have  "  shuffled  off 
this  mortal  coil."  Man,  in  the  flesh,  is  the  acme  of  these 
three  powerful  forces.  Having  attempted  to  show,  that 
the  mind's  forces  have  a  chain  of  sympathy,  uniting  them, 
I  will  now  ask,  if  there  are  not  sympathetic  influences, 
controlling  the  material  universe  ?  What  is  the  impulse, 
that  gives  a  being  an  irresistible  desire  to  plunge  over 
some  precipice,  that  curiosity  has  invited  him  to  its  brink, 
and  makes  him  shudder,  while  contemplating  the  dizzy 
depth,  that  seem  to  attract  him,  to  take  the  fearful  leap  ? 
This  is  the  power  of  one  force,  too  gigantic  for  the  weak 
ness  of  its  miniature  counterpart,  in  its  fleshly  tabernacle. 
Look  at  some  mighty  leviathan,  of  the  deep,  or  some  huge 
monster,  upon  the  land,  and  you  are  startled,  by  an  ani 
mal  strength,  that  shows  you  so  plainly  your  own  pigmy- 
ism.  Go  into  the  regal  woods,  and  hear  the  tempest 
howl,  through  the  branches  of  the  majestic  oak,  gaze  out, 
upon  the  mighty  ocean,  wonder  at  the  grandeur  of  all  you 
see,  and  feel  your  utter  insignificance. 

It  is  rarely,  that  an  excursion  of  pleasure,  in  which 
many  healthy  bodies  partake,  either  by  railroad  or  steamer, 
developing  the  hydrogen  in  man,  expressed  in  an  exuber 
ance  of  feeling,  but  what  some  accident,  too  frequently 
happens.  A  public  edifice  is  erected,  some  one  is  killed, 
or  injured,  during  process  of  its  erection.  He,  who  habitu 
ally  carries  a  pistol,  is  so  influenced  by  its  \  force,  that  he 
will  draw  it  involuntarily.  He,  who  constantly  carries  a 
knife,  will,  instinctively,  clutch  it  in  the  same  manner. 
Men,  from  infancy,  prefer  masculine  toys,  in  opposition 
to  the  tamer  selections  of  women,  because  they  are  more 
akin  to  their  stronger  natures.  Men  love  the  battle-field, 
the  roar  of  artillery,  the  rattle  of  musketry,  and  the  clash 
of  swords,  they  are  controlled  by  such  forces,  and  yield  to 
their  irresistible  influence,  thus  man  meets  his  brother  in 
i  aortal  combat,  and,  it  may  be,  that  the  force  of  "  Old 
Hickory  "  has  influenced  his  bust,  that  now  stands  frown- 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  87 

ing  in  Court  Square,  possibly  proving,  that  forces  of  mind 
and  matter,  in  the  past,  present,  and  future,  are  indis- 
rfolubly  connected.  Forces,  animal,  vegetable,  and  min 
eral,  are  the  same  in  origin,  chaotic  in  the  germ,  intelli 
gent  in  their  forms,  and  susceptible  of  nothing  but  change, 
retaining,  undisturbed,  their  elementary  character,  teach 
ing  us,  we  are  superiors  alone  in  the  minute,  but  insufficient 
to  cope  with  either  element,  in  their  separate  strength,  or 
might  of  combination.  Referring  to  Jackson,  reminds 
us  of  an  incident,  that  came  under  our  observation,  show 
ing  how  our  great  men  are  regarded  in  Europe,  and  what 
a  poor  opinion  crowned  heads  have  of  the  legal  profession. 
While  the  writer  was  visiting  Brussels,  the  capital  of 
Belgium,  (some  time  since,)  it  was  his  pleasure,  to  visit 
King  Leopold,  whom  he  considered  the  wisest  sovereign 
in  Europe.  The  estimate  of  this  king's  character,  in 
Europe,  may  be  judged  by  his  marital  alliances,  his  first 
wife,  being  the  daughter  of  Louis  Phillippej  and  his  sec 
ond,  the  Princess  Charlotte,  aunt  of  Queen  Victoria. 
To  reciprocate  the  compliments,  paid  him,  the  king  re 
marked,  to  the  wrriter : 

"  I  have  just  finished  reading  the  life  of  General  Jack 
son,  of  your  State,  and  find,  that  he  was  a  man  of  much 
character." 

"  Yes,"  replied  General  Fair,  the  American  minister, 
"  he  was  one  of  the  first  lawyers,  in  the  State."" 

"  A  lawyer  ?"  exclaimed  the  king,  with  evident  surprise. 

"  Yes,"  says  General  Fair,  "  but  one,  who  carries  his 
briefs  and  challenges  in  the  same  hat." 

The  status  of  a  lawyer,  in  Belgium,  is  that  of  a  scribe, 
or  clerk.  The  acceptance  of  such  an  error  of  opinion,  in 
our  country,  would  soon  decimate  the  legal  profession. 

As  I  have  introduced  politics  into  this  chapter,  I  will 
give  a  few  more  personal  reminiscences,  before  closing  the 
subject : 

On  the  9th  of  May,  1860,  the  Bell  and  Everett  con 
vention  convened  at  Baltimore;  the  morning  of  the  day 
of  the  nominations,  the  writer,  who  was  a  delegate  to 
this  last  assemblage  of  the  conservative  element  of  the 
nation,  was  sitting  at  Guy's,  the  greAt  Baltimore  caterer, 


88  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

in  company  with  the  following  distinguished  gentlemen, 
with  whom  I  had  a  julep  acquaintance:  John  J.  Crit- 
tenden,  of  Kentucky ;  Harris,  of  Maryland ;  Jerry  Clem 
ens,  of  Tennessee,  and  the  veritable  George  Saunders,  of 
New  York  ;  who  was  at  that  time,  a  part  of  the  outside 
pressure,  that  New  York  had  sent  to  Baltimore,  for  certain 
purposes  that  we  forbear  mentioning. 

George  Saunders  remarked,  "Mr.  Crittenden,  you  will 
be  nominated." 

"No  George,  I  am  laid  on  the  shelf,  Mr.  Bell  will  be 
the  nominee  of  the  convention,  and  a  better  selection 
could  not  be  made." 

"Well,  what  is  your  opinion,  Mr.  Crittenden,  of  the 
result." 

"  You  are  not  of  us,  George,  but  we  have  confidence 
in  your  integrity,  tell  no  tales,  and  I'll  give  you  all  a 
little  advice.  You  are  all  younger  men  than  I  am,  I  am 
called  a  fossil,  although  at  times  I  think  I'm  a  "  four-year 
old,"  but  let  me  tell  you  it  is  probable  the  Democracy 
may  elect  their  candidate,  if  so,  they  will  want  some 
honest  men  umong  them,  (no  exceptions,  George, )  swing 
together,  and  get  some  fat  little  offices.  Yet,  it  is  possible, 
the  Republicans  may  elect  their  candidate,  still  swing 
together,  your  prospects  will  be  still  brighter,  for  the 
necessity  for  honest  men  will  be  even  greater  in  that 
party," 

Thus  spake  that  great  and  good  Kentuckian,  who  had 
a  keen  appreciation  of  the  spirit  of  the  verse — * 

"  A  little  nonsense  now  and  then 
Is  relished  by  the  best  of  men. " 

Mr.  Crittenden's  jocose  prediction  and  suggestion,  re 
sulted  as  follows:  He,  himself,  was  no  loser  by  the 
accession  to  power  of  the  Republican  party.  Harris,  of 
Maryland,  remained  in  Congress,  Jerry  Clemens'  head 
appreciated  the  situation,  but  the  yearnings  of  his  heart 
overcame  the  promptings  of  his  policy ;  as  for  myself, 
not  "swinging,"  I  have  "brought  up"  in  prison.  The 
night  previous  to  the  Convention,  I  was  at  a  "blow  out," 
given  by  the  New  York  delegation,  for  the  purpose  of 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  89 

throwing  a  tub  to  the  Southern  whale,  the  occupants  of 
the  tub,  Samuel  Houston,  of  Texas,  and  Washington 
Hunt,  of  New  York;  the  former,  who,  if  he  had  had  a 
few  more  workers  with  brains  like  his  accomplished  Sec 
retary  of  State,  E.  W.  Cave,  and  fewer  like  Girard, 
whose  imprudence  destroyed  his  prospects,  he  might  have 
obtained  the  nomination.  We  did  not  swallow  the  tub 
and  contents,  but  did  the  champagne.  The  light  of  the 
occasion,  was  Horace  L.  Day,  of  New  York,  to  whose 
courtesy  I  could  only  respond,  that  should  it  over  be  my 
misfortune,  to  be  forced  into  Congress,  I  should  vote  for 
an  extension  6f  his  patent.  There  were  but  few  delegates 
to  the  convention,  but  who  were  aspirants  for  office,  one 
of  my  friends  in  particular,  a  prominent  Kentuckian,  and 
certainly  one  the  most  "whole-souled,"  genial  men  I  ever 
met,  informed  me,  privately,  that  he  was  a  candidate  for 
the  Vice-Presidency,  and  to  secure  my  vote,  would  favor 
a  bill  for  giving  every  thing  to  every  body;  based  on 
such  promises,  the  requisite  number  of  votes  were  soon 
secured,  but,  unfortunately  for  the  General,  about  eleven 
o'clock,  the  same  night,  he  fell  between  the  many  planks 
of  his  platform,  and,  politically  speaking,  has  never  recov 
ered.  We  lost  a  glorious  candidate,  and  the  State  of 
Kentucky  secured  an  incorruptible  Adjutant  General. 
Since  the  collapse  at  Baltimore,  I  have  been  the  beneficiary 
of  nothing  but  228-pound  bomb  and  percussion  shells, 
with  some  64-solids  interlarded.  I  had  hoped,  the  loss 
of  a  limb,  or  a  flesh  wound,  might  presage  political  pre 
ferment,  as  I  know  several  colonels,  who  had  horses  shot 
from  under  them,  and  shortly  after  became  candidates 
for,  and  were  elected  to,  Congress,  however,  as  "  true 
nobility  looks  to  the  future,"  I  will  endeavor  to  forget 
the  shadows  of  my  past  political,  and  military,  history, 
and  turn  to  the  contemplation  of  a  virtuous  future,  where 
the  reflex  of  my  past  actions,  particularly  the  time  en 
gaged,  in  writing  this  book,  will  aiford  me  a  solace  suf 
ficient.  Like  Cincinnatus,  I  will  go  i4  home  to  the  plow," 
you  may  say,  as  a  young  lady,  pert,  pretty,  and  satirical, 
said,  on  my  arrival,  a  prisoner,  at  Columbus,  Ohio : 
7 


90         SCRAPS  FEOM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

"While  at  home,  you  had  better  have  stayed  there,  and 
then  you  woudn't  have  been  here."     . 

The  true  guide  in  life  is  "the  lamp  of  experience," 
and  if  I  am  no  better  by  its  teachings,  I  hope  I  am  wiser, 
and  retire  for  the  present,  only  willing  to  re-enter  the 
arena,  when,  by  a  unanimous  call  of  my  fellow  citizens, 
I  may  be  selected  to  represent  them  in  some  of  the  many 
legislative  branches  of  the  country,  whose  tendencies  are 
not  toward  a  military  prison. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  91 


CHAPTER  IV. 


WHY  ARE  WE  PRISONERS.— MUGGINS'  CLUB.— MISSOURI,  AND  HER 
SOLDIERS.— DISTINCTION  OF  RACE  AND  SOCIETY.— DISSIMILARITY 
OF  THE  SECTIONS,  IN  HABIT,  ETC.— DEATH  IN  PRISON.— GENERAL 
MURRAY  DIED  MAY  28TH,  1S62.— YANKEE  NEGRO  PHILANTROPHY.— 
SHAM  FIGHT  ON  THE  CAMPUS.— OUR  PRISON  MESS,  AND  CLUB.— 
NO.  2,  BLOCK  8,  JOHNSON'S  ISLAND.-LOUNGERS'  HEAD-QUARTERS. 
—THE  HASH  QUESTION.— OUR  MINISTERS  IN  PRISON.-THE  CROWD 
UPON  THE  CAMPUS.-OFFICER  SHOT.-OUR  PHYSICAL  THERMOME 
TER—ROUTINE  OF  PRISON-LIFE.-SHILOH  PRISONERS. 

SINCE  my  imprisonment,  I  have  reflected  upon  the 
chain  of  circumstances,  that  brought  me  here,  and  I 
iind,  they  are  as  much  the  result  of  incongruous  elements 
in  man,  as  any  thing  else ;  a  distinction  of  race,  class, 
and  affinity.  An  American  is  not  an  American,  the 
popular  theory  of  North,  East,  South,  and  West,  one 
and  indivisible,  is  proved  fallacious,  by  actions,  that  cause 
the  air  to  resound  in  the  clang  of  arms.  A  man  may  be 
born  in  America,  and  yet  not  be  inspired  with  the  spirit 
of  the  genius  of  his  birth-place,  his  blood  may  be  of  Turk, 
Greek,  or  Gaul.  Education,  and  social  usage,  may  direct, 
and  habit  may  control,  his  character,  yet  the  ancestral 
blood  remains  undisturbed,  and  the  volatile  Frenchman, 
phlegmatic  German,  or  the  stoical  Englishman,  are  as 
naturally  true  to  their  blood-instincts,  even,  though  born 
in  the  extreme  North  or  South,  as  if  fledged  beneath  the 
air  of  La  belle  France,  or  amid  the  dense  fogs,  that  are 
broken  by  the  chalk-cliffs  of  Dover. 

In  Belgium,  you  have,  on  the  French  frontier,  the  Wal 
loon  ;  on  the  Prussian,  the  swarthe  and  frigid  German  ; 


92    t  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

on  the  Holland,  the  Dutch  ;  in  East  and  West  Flanders, 
the  Flemings ;  here,  in  a  small  territory,  one-fourth  the 
size  of  the  State  of-  New  York,  we  find  several  distinct 
races  of  people,  it  is  the  same  with  us,  in  Louisiana,  you 
have  the  Creole,  in  all  his  originality,  the  same  to-day  as 
at  the  French  occupation.     Florida  has  nourishing  traces 
of  her  Spanish  ancestry,  and  Catholic  Lord  Baltimore  has 
left  a  goodly  descent,  in  the  American  Catholic  population 
of  the  banner  city  of  the  South,  Baltimore.     The  other 
extreme  of  the  country,  expresses  the  same  fanaticism, 
that  landed  on  Plymouth  Rock,  to  murder  Indians,  iii 
the  three  thousand  clergymen,  who  signed  the  petition, 
to  abolish  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  a  docu 
ment,  full  of  the  feound-headism,  but  void  of  the  sincerity 
of  the  clan,  that  supported  the  fanatical  Cromwell.     The 
South  exhibits,  to  this  day,  her  descent  from  .the  cavaliers 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  while  the  East  exhibits  a 
Puritan  descent,  two  elements,  which  are  as  impossible 
to  fuse,  as  oil  and  water.     The  habits  and  manners,  of 
the  sections,  are  unlike.     A  Western  man,  he,  who  has 
faced  a  thousand  dangers,  on  the  frontier,  whose  inspira 
tions  are  from  the  broad  and  romantic  prairie,  and,  who 
with  rifle  in  hand,  sees  his  manly  form  reflected,  from  the 
bosom  of  the  mighty  Mississippi,  is  as  distinct  from  the 
manufacturer  of  wooden  nutmegs,   as  day  from  night. 
The  Northern,  Eastern,  Southern,  and  Western  sections, 
of  this  broad  domain,  are  separated,  by  distinct  natural 
laws,  incapable  of  early  fusion,  and  which  may  require 
generations,  to  harmonize.     Railroad  connections,  caus 
ing  a  commingling  of  the  people,  and  their  interweaving, 
through  social,   commercial,  and  marital  relations,  may 
develop  and   cement   affinities,  thus    brought   together, 
antagonism  only   widens   the  breach,  and   one  of  such 
shocks,   brought    us   here.     My    durance    will  widen  a 
breach,  that  time  may  heal,  though  the  inherent  principle 
remains.     The  Tennessean  is  not  homogeneous,  with  the 
native  of  Maine,  or  New  Hampshire,  and  I  am  a  Tennes 
sean,  and  time  will  demonstrate,  that  the  natives  of  the 
South,    are  as  distinct  from  those  of  the  East,  as  the 
French  from  the  English,  they  being  separated  by  only 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  93 

twenty  miles  of  water,  and  they,  with  this  close  connec 
tion,  bringing  together  large  interests,  in  trade  and 
manufacture,  the  Frenchman  is  as  much  at  a  loss  in  Bir 
mingham,  as  the  Englishman  at  Bordeaux.  Then  the 
only  proper  course  left  to  us,  is  to  trust  to  the  resolution 
of  society,  which  will  regulate  itself,  by  natural  laws,  as 
the  great  "  Daniel "  said,  ultis  a  question  of  soil  and 
climate."  Society,  like  all  streams,  will  soon  find  its 
level,  if  left  in  its  natural  current,  but  if  choked  up  in  its 
disorganized  condition,  will  run  madly  over  its  banks, 
carrying  death  and  destruction  in  its  wake.  Fanaticism, 
while  knowing,  that  he  and  his  neighbor  are  as  separate 
as  the  poles,  would  drag  him  to  his  political  bosom, 
regardless  of  the  loathing  and  disgust,  exhibited  in  every 
natural  and  educational  lineament.  A  disposition,  to  test 
the  truth  of  this  "theory,"  brought  me  to  Johnson's 
island,  and  the  coercive  policy,  that  would  amalgamate 
discordant  elements,  has,  by  its  madness  and  folly,  de 
tained  me  here,  where  I  am  likely  to  remain,  at  present, 
satisfied,  that  blood  will  not  come  out  of  a  turnip,  and  if 
a  man  is  born  in  a  stable,  it  is  not  proof  positive,  that  he 
is  a  jackass. 

The  Muggins'  Club  was  not  inaugurated  upon  the  basis 
of  the  "Beef-steak,"  or  "  Croekford's,"  those  famous 
London  clubs  ;  they  require  means,  or  position,  and  an 
initiation  fee,  of  from  fifty  to  a  hundred  guineas,  before 
you  can  enjoy  the  society  of  the  "wits"  and  beaux,  of 
that  great  metropolis.  Then  again,  these  clubs  have  not 
only  a  strong  penchant  for  roast  beef,  and  "'alf  and  'alf," 
but  they  have  the  wherewith  also,  to  satisfy  the  same, 
and  the  fancy,  that  "mi"  lord  or  lady  has  to  wager  a 
thousand  guineas,  upon  the  turn  of  a  card  can  be  grati 
fied*  Per  contra,  with  the  Mugginses,  their  capacities, 
as  to  imaginary  investments,  and  fabulous  winnings,  wer^ 
as  large,  as  "peer"  or  "potentate,"  and  the  greatest 
w.iger  ever  made,  in  England,  realm,  was  not  as  large 
as  the  bet  of  a  Muggins,  (in  his  dreams.)  One  of  their 
largest  bets,  is  of  value  in  China,  "one  cash,"  another 
the  French  "centime,"  the  grand  "pot"  of  the  club,  is  of 
value,  English  currency,  "two-pence." 


94  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

The  following  are  the  members  of  the  club,  who  have 
been  admitted  to  all  its  rights,  and  %  privileges,  on  pay- 
of  the  initiation  fee,  one  cent. 

"Captain  Thompson,  this  gentleman,  is  one  of  our 
most  erudite  and  finished  scholars." 

Captain  Thompson,  previous  to  his  connection  with  the 
club,  was  engaged  in  teaching  the  "young  idea  how  to 
shoot,"  succeeding  so  well  in  which,  he  concluded,  to 
teach  the  "old  idea"  the  same  principle,  only  varying  the 
scene  from  the  rude  and  happy  school-room  of  the 
country,  to  the  tented  field  of  "blood  and  carnage." 
Thompson's  name  is  spelled  with  a  "p,"  yet  he  is  not 
the  Thompson  of  "Toodles  notoriety,"  but  a  cheerful, 
pleasant  gentleman,  and  president  of  the  "Muggins 
Club." 

Captain  Frank  McVay  was  formerly  treasurer  of  the 
club,  but  unfortunately  for  the  businees  wants  of  the 
society,  he  resigned,  it  being  intimated  by  Lieutenant)  John 
Spain  of  his  regiment,  and  secretary  of  the  club,  that 
there  was  a  discrepancy  of  several  cents  in  the  weekly 
budget,  and  alluded  to  a  brash  game  of  "poker,"  in 
which  the  treasurer  was  known  to  risk  a  cent,  on  four 
kings,  thus  showing  a  recklessness,  that  would  involve  the 
society.  By  a  vote  of  the  club,  the  honorable  gentleman 
was  reinstated,  and  the  resolution  of  Lieutenant  Spain 
expunged.  The  Falstaffian  treasurer  accepted,  with  the 
following  remarks:  "I  rise  for  information,  you  may 
say,  'no  man  needs  it  more,'  it  has  been  insinuated,  that 
I  have  attempted,  with  the  funds  of  the  society,  to  build 
up  an  institution,  approximating  to  the  'artificial  rain 
water  society,'  a  creation  of  'oily  gammon,'  to  ruin  the 
Earl  of  Dredlington,  it  is  said,  I  have  grown  fat  upon  the 
loaves  and  (not  fishes, )  but  Pierson's  '  blue  beef, '  of  office. 
Fellow  Mugginses,  I  deny  the  soft  impeachment,  and 
defiantly  throw  down  my  guage,"  (which  happened  to  be 
a  soiled  sock,)  the  captain  had  put  into  his  pocket,  by 
mistake,  for  a  glove. 

At  this  crises,  an  irreverent  member,  under  the  influ 
ence  of  molasses  and  water,  cried,  "sock  it  to  'em." 
Nobody  accepting  the  guage,  that  is,  picking  up  the 


SCRAPS  FKOM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  95 

disconsolate  mate  of  a  pair  of  half-hose,  the  honorable 
gentleman  proceeded:  "I  am  here  to  night,  (another 
member,)  "good,  I'm  glad  to  see  you  are  not  ubiquitous," 
4 'to  give  collusiveness  to  my  presentations,"  (a  stolid 
member,  who  has  just  awakened,  "what's  that?  some 
thing  good  to  eat?")  But,  in  spite  of  these  episodical 
interruptions,  the  gentleman  continued,  and  held  the 
audience  for  an  hour,  (one  member  by  the  tail  of  his 
coat,)  spell-bound,  the  whole  speech  was  replete  with 
Demosthenic  metaphor,  and  Ciceronian  peroration,  his 
last  remark,  as  he  fell  into  the  arms — of  his  chair,  upon 
the  platform,  in  a  state  of  exhaustion,  was — "gas."  The 
society  is  now  going  on  swimmingly,  that  is,  most  of 
their  heads  swim.  Lieutenant  John  Spain,  lieutenant 
Company  A.,  First  Alabama,  Tennessee,  and  Mississippi 
volunteers,  was  at  the  fight  at  New  Madrid,  where  he 
proved  the  working  of  an  old  rule,  that  if  New  Madrid 
was  not  in  Spain,  Spain  would  not  remain  in  New 
Madrid,  so  he  evacuated  the  latter  place,  with  the  Con 
federate  forces,  on  the  13th  of  March,  1862.  He  is  quite 
popular  with  the  "club,"  with  the  exception  of  a  little 
bitterness,  that  has  sprang  up  between  a  few  members 
and  himself,  a  consequence  of  his  boasting,  of  his  being 
exchanged  for  General  Prentiss,  an  ebulition  of  pride, 
that  for  a  few  days,  made  him  obnoxious  to  the  club,  on 
finding  out,  that  some  technicality  would  create  xlelay, 
and  that  the  spelling  of  Prentiss  by  the  Confederates,  as 
Prent  ass,  had  been  deemed  objectionable  by  the  "blue 
bellies."  The  club  met,  and  the  offending  member,  who 
had  impugned  the  motives  of  Lieutenant  Spain,  in  his 
acceptance  of  an  exchange,  (thus  quitting  the  society,) 
was  ruled  out,  and  the  lieutenant  was  reinstated,  in  the 
good  graces  of  the  "Muggins  Club."  Having  gotten  his 
"rights  in  the  States,"  at  New  Madrid,  and  in  the 
4 '  Territories, "  at  Island  Ten,  after  a  manful  fight,  he  has 
obtained  full  possession  of  all  his  personal  and  reserved 
rights,  as  a  member  of  the  "Muggins  Club,"  in  good 
standing,  with  the  cable  tow  of  jealousy  removed  from  his 
neck. 

Another   leading  member  of  the  club  is  Lieutenant 


96  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

Darnell,  of  the  Third  Mississippi,  who,  without  boister- 
ousness,  is  full  of  vivacity,  and  a  land  and  considerate 
gentleman.  The  club  has  honorary  members,  the  best 
men  in  it,  Captain  Burton,  of  the  Twenty-sixth  Missis 
sippi,  and  Captain  Saunders  of  the  Third  Mississippi, 
the  former  a  steady,  firm,  and  honest  man,  of  dauntless 
courage,  the  latter  an  obliging,  kind-hearted  soldier 
of  the  highest  order  of  courage,  proven  on  the  fields  of 
Buena  Vista,  Monterey,  Mannassas,  Shiloh,  Donaldson. 
The  Captain  lost  an  arm,  some  years  ago,  but  it  does  not 
disturb  his  active  energies  whatever.  His  bunk  is  a 
perfect  machine  shop,  a  score  of  rings,  walking  canes,  and 
pipes,  testifying  to  his  industrious  habits;  for  a  perfect 
model  of  a  soldier,  and  patriot,  with  a  disposition,  as 
gentle  as  some  women,  give  me  Captain  Saunders,  of  the 
Third  Mississippi  volunteers.  I  would  say  more  about 
the  club,  but  they  are  now  getting  into  a  row,  that  requires 
the  interposition  of  the  writer,  as  umpire.  One  of  the 
members  has  slipped  a  card  up  his  sleeve,  (accidentally, 
of  course,)  while  his  opponent  has  grabbed  stakes,  and 
"there's  mischief  bruin,"  (as  the  man  said,  when  he  shot 
the  bear,"  and  an  explanation  is  necessary,  previous  to 
the  retiring  of  the  club,  "from  labor  to  refreshment." 

The  gallant  State  of  Missouri,  and  her  soldiers,  under 
the  command  of  that  great  chieftain,  Sterling  Price,  have 
done,  and  suffered  much,  for  the  Confederacy,  and  she, 
yet  to-day,  is  one  among  the  brightest  gems  in  the  South 
ern  galaxy.  My  comprehension,  of  the  military  status  of 
Missouri,  as  reflected  by  the  policy  of  the  Confederate 
States,  is,  I  think,  the  correct  one.  It  was  supposed,  that 
the  only  way  of  testing  the  feelings  of  a  citizen  of  a  State, 
was  to  leave  them  to  their  own  free  choice  of  expression, 
the  confirmation  of  which,  would  be  their  acceptance  of 
an  appeal- to  arms. 

The  Confederacy  placed  a  sufficient  force  in  this  gallant 
State,  to  form  a  nucleus,  for  the  brave  sympathisers  of  the 
oppressed  South  to  rally  around.  The  banner  of  freedom 
wTas  unfurled  in  Missouri,  on  the  Missouri  river,  by  a 
steamboat  captain,  D.  DeHaven,  one  of  the  State's  most 
gallant  sons,. and  valley  and  mountain  responded,  inspir- 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  97 

ing  the  citizens,  of  the  down-trodden  State,  who  flocked, 
enthusiastically,  to  the  Confederate  standard,  but  the  iron 
heel  of  despotism,  had  been  planted  upon  her  capital,  and 
marts  of  trade,  and  the  facilities  of  her  enemies,  for  trans 
portation,  and  concentration,  by  land  and  water,  rendered 
the  continued  occupation  of  Missouri  untenable,  and  Mis 
souri  was  left  to  her  fate,  yet  thousands  of  her  true  men, 
as  individuals,  and  in  companies,  left  their  hearths  and 
fire-sides,  and  joined  the  organizations  of  other  States, 
there  were  also  thousands,  who  were  intercepted,  while  en 
route  for  the  South,  with  arms  in  their  hands,  and  con 
fined  in  the  many  military  prisons  of  the  North,  many  of 
whom  are  with  us  in  Johnson's  island,  whose  description 
of  the  massacre,  by  the  "  bloody  Dutch,"  of  St.  Louis,  is 
heart-rending,  which  satisfies  the  writer,  that  in  a  free 
country,  (so-called,)  "the  people  will  submit  to  anything." 
The  Missourians,  in  prison  with  us,  have  the  reputation 
of  being  good  soldiers,  and  have  left  their  homes,  with  a 
burning  zeal  for  independence,  to  follow  the  star  of  Mis 
souri,  (Sterling  Price,)  that  now  shines,  undimmed,  in  the 
military  horizon  of  the  South,  who,  with  his  followers, 
have  been  driven  from  their  State,  by  a  spirit  of  fanati 
cism,  stimulated  by  the  "  Devil,"  and  the  "  Dutch." 

William  P.  Clarkson,  captain,  Sixth  Regiment,  Missouri 
Volunteers,  captured  December  21st,  1861.  Clarkson  is 
a  perfect  specimen  of  human  architecture,  possessing  the 
delicacy  of  the  Corinthian,  with  the  stength,  and  naturale. 
of  the  Doric,  the  quiet  dignity  of  the  Ionic,  and  the  child 
like  manner  of  the  Tuscan,  reminding  us  of  the  times 
gone  by,  when  simplicity  of  mien,  was  as  much  admired, 
as  the  antique  Tuscan,  in  the  present,  forming  a  human 
temple,  in  the  social  world,  that  on  can  well  nigh  wor 
ship  at. 

"  With  leave  to  write  a  stranger's  name, 
A  captive  here — your  father  greeting, 
It  is  my  fate,  but  not  my  shame, 
To  give  you  this  a  prisoner's  greeting. 

"  WM.  P.  CLAKKSON,  Captain, 

"  Sixth  Missouri  Regiment,  Company  H.,  taken  prisoner  near  Sedelia, 
Missouri,  while  on  special  duty  for  General  Price." 


98  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

Captain  J.  P.  Cohvell,  Porter's  Regiment,  Greene's 
Division,  captured,  January  8th,  1$62,  at  the  battle  of 
Silver  Creek.  Captain  D.  H.  Mcliityre,  First  Regiment, 
Missouri  State  Guards,  captured  at  Fulton,  Missouri, 
December  25th,  1861.  Captain  Jno.  G.  Provine,  same 
regiment,  captured  same  time.  Captain  F.  A.  Rogers, 
Company  C,  Second  Regiment,  Sixth  Division,  M.  S.  G., 
captured  at  Millbrd,  Johnson  county,  Missouri,  December 
19th,  1861.  James  F.  Wilhite,  captured  at  same  place, 
as  were  Captain  Wm.  E.  Jamison,  Adjutant  J.  Joplin, 
W.  Singleton,  Duncan,  captured  at  Fulton,  December 
25th,  1861,  Lieutenant  P.  F.  Willard,  Lieutenant  Raines, 
Division  M.  S.  G.,  captured  at  Kirksville,  Missouri,  De 
cember,  1862.  Captain  H.  M.  Salmon,  one  of  the  most 
thorough  soldiers  and  gentlemen,  from  his  State,  captured 
at  Versailles,  Missouri,  December  3d,  1861.  Captains 
Weed,  Hogane,  and  Fletcher,  are  mentioned  in  other 
"  scraps." 

The  following  lines  are  from  Captain  Simmons : 

«To-     — . 

"I  address  thee — from  a  colder  clime, 

Than  your  own  dear  Southern  laud  ; 
To  prison  consigned,  to  remain  a  time, 
For  daring  to  rally  'round  Liberty's  stand . 

"  I  write  from  a  land  where  the  pure  holy  fire, 

In  the  lamp  of  Freedom  grows  dim ; 
To  beg  a  kind  thought,  (as  a  friend  of  your  sire,) 
May  be  spared,  from  your  thousand,  for  him. 

"  And — I'll  pray  in  return,  that  the  rays 

Of  our  rising  Southern  sun, 
The  brightest  and  warmest,  may  meet  thy  gaze, 
And  cheer  your  path,  in  the  years  to  come." 

All  natural  convulsions  are  attended  with  more  or  less 
disastrous  results,  but  the  most  terrible  of  all  is — death— 
this  is  a  convulsion  that  shocks  the  earth  to  its  centre, 
affects  all,  levels  all,  and  is  a  debt  that  all  must  pay,  the 
interest  of  which  is  in  the  future,  that  to  all  is  dark  and 
impenetrable.  Circumstances  may  modify  the  terrors  of 
the  grim  monster's  visitation,  but  the  finale  is  the  same, 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  99 

whether  or  not  the  struggle  is  ended  in  the  quiet  chamber, 
surrounded  by  the  loved  ones  of  the  family  altar,  (and 
there  amid  groans  and  tears  the  spirit  takes  its  flight,)  or 
the  fitful  fever  is  o'er  in  the  prison,  or  in  harness  upon 
the  bloody  field,  the  last  gasp  is  the  end.  Although  the 
desire  to  die  at  home  is  paramount  in  the  human  heart, 
yet  there  is  a  terrible  disturbance  in  that  society,  of  which 
the  victim  may  be  a  member,  disease  has  placed  its  iron 
hand  upon  him,  and  the  icy  chill  of  death  is  rapidly 
creeping  o'er  the  once  robust  frame,  the  wail  of  the  orphan 
children,  and  the  expressed  bursting  of  the  widow's  heart, 
is  incense  offered  at  the  altar  of  the  King  of  Terrors,  to 
appease  his  wTrath,  but  he  is  unrelenting,  and  the  sufferer 
dies ;  then  follows  the  gloom  of  the  household,  the  horrid 
paraphernalia  of  the  funeral  cortege,  and  the  blank  despair 
in  that  once  happy  home,  the  roll  of  wheels  is  harsh,  the 
laugh  of  the  light  and  thoughtless  is  discordant,  and  the 
clock  of  the  world  for  that  day  stands  still,  and  life  is  a 
blank.  This  is  death  at  home,  a  horrible  shock,  although 
at  home. 

Death  rides  his  pale  horse  on  the  battle-field.  Here 
amid  the  whistle  of  bullets,  the  shriek  of  shell,  the  fierce 
roar  of  cannon,  and  the  yells  of  men  drunk  with  blood, 
strikes  down  his  victim,  and  the  spirit  wings  its  wray  to 
that  bar,  where  its  destiny  is  in  the  hands  of  justice,  and  not 
tardy,  not  bought  and  sold,  and  whose  balances  would 
break  with  a  hair  of  falsity.  The  most  solemn  of  all 
deaths  is  that  within  the  prison  walls,  far  from  home,  a 
chain  of  future  subjects  snapped  in  twain,  hopes  obliterated, 
deferred  schemes  rent  and  scattered,  home  and  its  happy 
associations,  severed  from  living  memory,  the  absent  wife 
is  in  the  mind's  eye,  the  mother's  nursery  rhymes,  (for 
it  matters  not  how  old  the  body,  the  soul  of  the  child  and 
the  man  are  the  same,  and  hence  the  mental  recurrence 
to  the  circumstances  of  childhood.)  The  green  grass  of 
the  meadow  looks  brighter,  the  running  brook  seems 
clearer,  the  laugh  of  your  children  ring  in  merry  peals 
through  the  garden ;  he  sees  the  thousand  pictures  of 
home-life,  they  become  fainter,  they  are  seen  through  a 
mist,  (the  film  that  looms  round  the  death  bed,)  it  is 


100  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

dark,  the  spirit  lias  left  its  tabernacle  of  clay.  Such  a 
death  in  prison,  died  General  Murray,  of  Warren  county, 
Tennessee,  on  the  28th  of  May,  1862.  A  political 
prisoner,  arrested  and  confined  by  order  of  Andrew  John 
son,  military  Governor  of  Tennessee.  General  Murray 
was  not  much  above  the  prime  of  life,  fitted  by  nature,  if 
spared  to  accomplish  much  ere  the  expiration  of  time 
allowed  by  the  Psalmist,  of  high  standing  at  home,  the 
centre  of  a  large  and  devoted  household,  he  was  cut  down 
like  a  flower  ;  he  died  as  he  had  lived,  calm  and  resigned. 
lie  was  consigned  to  the  resting  place,  that  was  to  bear 
all  that  remained  of  him  to  his  family  and  friends.  The 
prison  gates  are  opened,  and  the  coffin  disappears.  Why 
is  all  this  ?  Man's  inhumanity  to  man.  Does  it  not  seein 
that  God's  vengeance  will  shower  coals  of  fire  upon  the 
heads  of  this  wicked  generation.  Chorazin,  Babylon  and 
Nineveh,  were  destroyed  for  much,  for  much  less. 

Colonel  John  Dorr,  is  a  connection  of  mine,  and  over 
flowing  with  generous  impulses,  and  is  the  soul  of  hospi 
tality  itself,  yet  is  afflicted  with  the  Abolitionphobia,  that 
seems  to  strike  him  like  St.  Vitus  dance,  and,  from  hav 
ing  been  an  editor  in  good  standing,  of  that  sterling 
Democratic  journal,  the  "Kenebec  Journal,"  has  sank 
into  the  abyss,  created  by  rabid  Abolitionism. 

While  on  a  visit  to  the  colonel,  in  Augusta,  Maine,  he 
wished  me  to  call  upon  one  of  her  most  distingushed  colored 
citizens,  whose  cognomen  was  "  Uncle  Isorn."  I  went, 
;>nd  was  ushered  into  a  neat  cottage,  that  is,  as  much  so, 
as  the  American  citizens  of  African  descent,  are  capable 
of  keeping  in  such  condition;  the  building  had  been 
erected  at  the  expense  of  the  corporation,  and  the  ground 
donated  quite  philanthropically,  by  my  African-loving 
connection,  (possibly  there  were  suffering  whites  about). 
Uncle  Isom  was  glad  to  see  me,  as  he  was  agreeably  dis 
appointed,  anticipating  seeing  a  slave-owner,  (I  owned 
one,)  with  a  pistol  sticking  out  of  each  pocket,  and  a 
bowie  knife  in  his  coat  collar,  a  bottle  of  whiskey  in  one 
hand  and  a  horse-whip  in  the  other,  a  picture  often  pre 
sented  to  the  gullible  fanatics  in  the  North.  I  was  a 
modest  .looking  youth  then,  and  can  appreciate  his  as- 


SCRAPS  FEOM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  101 

tonisliment.     I  was  also  surprised  at  him,  expecting  to 
see   "an  ancient   colored   individual,   with  no  capillary 
substance  on  the  summit  of  his  cranium,"    as  from  the 
donations  made  to  him,   made  the  presumption  obvious, 
that  he  was    superanuated,    yet    strange    to    say,     he 
was  a    "big  buck  nigger,"  who  had  raised  two  trifling 
sons,   that   had   ran  off,    much   to   the   gratification    of 
the    citizans.       He   was    perfectly   able   to    work,    but 
was  taking  advantage  of  the  simplicity  of  his  friends. 
Our   interview   ending,    I  requested  a  glass  of  water; 
'twas    handed   me    in    a   tin    cup,    and    had   that    de- 
decided  flavor,  that  I  have  enjoyed  so  often,  on  a*  Missis 
sippi  plantation,   in  drinking  out  of  a  gourd,   of  a  warm 
day,  it  was  decidedly    "Nigger."     I  drank  with  much 
gusto,    and   handed   the   cup   to  Dorr,     who   declined, 
remarking,    as   the   door   closed  on  us,     "  how  did  you 
manage  to  drink  after  that  greasy  old  Negro  ?"    I  replied, 
with  ns,  we  are  secure  in  our  social  position,  and  do  not 
fear  the  trespass  of  an  inferior  race,  you  having  elevated 
the  Negro  to  the  position  of  an  equal,  politically,  you  now 
fear  a  social  trespass ;     the    Southern    man  is  the  true 
philanthropist,    and   the  best  friend    of  the  black  man, 
if  not  from  affection,  from  policy's  sake.     Dorr  is  a  type 
of  the  New  England  fanatic,   there  is  none  of  them,  that 
will  drink  out  of  the  cup  of  a  Negro,  and  yet,  are  flooding 
the  country  with  blood,  to  place  him  in  a  false  position. 

The  amusement  of  the  sham  fight  on  the  Campus,  is 
one  of  the  most  exciting  of  the  many  efforts,  to  while 
away  the  time,  and  break  the  monotony  of  our  confine 
ment.  The  fortification  consists  of  a  wood-pile,  with  a 
crest  of  sticks,  interior  and  exterior  slopes  of  chunks. 
The  rat  holes  are  within  the  buildings,  affording  a  secure 
retreat  for  the  temporary  vanquished.  The  engagement 
generally  opens  not  by  knocking  a  chip  off  an  antagonist's 
shoulder,  but  by  throwing  several  chips  at  the  enemy,  who 
is  admirably  poised  upon  a  billet  of  wood,  awaiting  the 
attack  and  the  opening  of  the  foe's  batteries,  which  are 
masked.  The  attack  is  frequently  violent,  and  the 
character  of  the  missiles  effective,  and  if  the  shot  are  not 
hot,  the  work  is.  At  the  invitation  of  Lieutenant  Watts, 


102  SCKAPS  FKOM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

of  the  artillery,  I  had  the  honor  of  witnessing  one  of  these 
combats  from  a  secure  position,  behintl  some  timber.  The 
lieutenant  is  a  polished  gentleman,  who  flourished  in  the 
good  old  days  of  1837,  when  Haskill  catered  at  the 
Louisville  hotel,  and  the  Pearl  Street  house  was  in  full 
blast,  in  Cincinnati,  at  either  of  which  hotels  at  different 
seasons,  Watts  was  the  "lion"  of  all  "hops,"  and  the 
"  mogul "  of  all  dinner  parties.  Those  fashionable  resorts 
have  long  since  run  down,  but  Watts,  like  the  writer,  has 
'wound  up  in  prison.  But  our  reflections  are  interrupted 
by  a  missile  in  the  shape  of  a  huge  clod  of  clay,  thrown 
with  much  vigor,  by  Lieutenant  McWhorter,  brother  of 
Captain  McWhorter,  who  is  one  of  the  most  valiant  of 
the  combatants,  and  hurls  his  projectiles  like  he  had  a 
sling  of  the  ancients,  (not  a  gin  sling,)  and  uses  his  forces 
with  the  power  of  Archimedes.  Mac,  as  we  term  him,  is 
a  gallant  young  man,  and  the  life  of  the  upper  part  of 
the  Faubourg,  in  Block  1.  He  is  the  most  terrific  of  the 
battery  corps,  and  is  as  good  as  a  baker's  dozen  in  the 
evening  attacks,  always  sustaining  his  ground  in  the  many 
combats  in  which  he  has  participated.  McWhorter  is 
Lieutenant  in  the  Forty-Ninth  Tennessee,  and  is  as 
pleasant,  socially,  as  he  is  fierce  in  action.  The  clod 
happening  to  strike  in  our  neighborhood,  barely  grazing 
the  cranium  of  an  oflicer  on  my  right,  Captain  Erskine 
Joyce,  of  the  Second  Kentucky.  Joyce  is  a  desperately 
brave  man,  cares  for  nothing  when"  aroused,  and  will  fight 
under  any  and  all  circumstances.  Bud.  Joyce,  like  all  the 
Louisvillians,  is  a  good  liver,  and  fond  of  good  society. 

If  you  want  to  pass  a  few  days  pleasantly,  take  any 
boat  that  Harry  Spotts  may  command;  who,  with  St. 
Clair  Thomason,  are  the  prince  captains  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  take  a  trip  from  Louisville  to  New  Orleans,  and  if 
Bud.  Joyce  is  with  you,  a  delightful  trip  is  a  certainty. 

Joyce  replies  to  the  missile  with  a  solitary  chip,  (in  the 
language  of  Martin  Van  Buren.)  The  term  chip  is  con 
ventional,  being -used  in  fighting  the  tiger,  as  well  as  in 
sham  fights  on  the  island. 

The  combat  is  now  waxing  warm,  the  chips  and  clods 
are  becoming  more  important  in  their  volume.  Lieutenant 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  103 

Nichol,  of  Nashville,  who  has  this  moment  entered  the 
Held,  has  barely  escaped  the  odor  of  a  shell,  caused  by 
displaying  his  handsome  form  to  the  enemy's  batteries, 
exhibiting  the  non-chalence  of  a  veteran.  Nichol  shows 
game  and  blood,  rather  impulsive,  but  it  is  possible,  that 
dash,  with  nerve,  may  overcome  cooler  and  calmer  heads. 
Lieutenant  Nichol  shows  good  breeding,  a  requisite  in 
joining  Head's  regiment. 

Lieutenant  James  T.  Kirkman,  is  of  that  celebrated 
Kirkman  family,  as  well  known  in  the  history  of  Ten 
nessee,  as  the  Jacksons,  Carrols  and  Polks.  He  belongs  to 
the  Tenth  Tennessee.  Lieutenant  Kirkman  is  on  the  Held, 
but  is  one  of  the  lookouts,  and  is  not  much  in  danger 
from  the  shelling,  yet  is  watching  the  progress  of  the 
fight,  with  much  interest.  Captain  McWhorter,  Eigh- ' 
teenth  Tennessee,  and  Captain  Henry  Pointer,  Third 
Tennessee,  who  are  standing  in  conversation,  with  a 
tout  ensemble,  reminding  you  more  of  Broadway  or  St. 
Charles  street,  than  the  boulevard  Beauregard.  They 
are  rather  staid,  not  mingling  in  the  rude  sports  of  the 
Campus,  which  is  attributed  to  their  having  fallen  into 
the  sere  and  yellow  leaf,  a  period  of  life,  when  the  failure 
of  desire,  gives  man  a  reputation  for  virtue ;  I  attribute 
their  quietitude  to  the  effects  of  sedentary  habits  at  home. 
The  shells  come  thicker  and  faster,  and  our  two  gallant 
friends  retire.  Captain  G.  R.  G.  Jones,  of  the  artillery, 
is  a  son  of  George  W.  Jones,  late  Senator  from  Iowa,  to 
the  United  States  Congress.  Jones  deserves  credit  for 
espousing  the  cause  of  the  South,  yielding  his  prospects 
for  place  and  preferment,  to  take  up  arms  for  his  adopted 
State,  Tennessee ;  he  is  an  accomplished  gentleman,  and 
a  versatile  genius,  being  one  of  the  best  musicians  in 
prison.  In  noticing  Jones  washing,  some  days  ago,  I 
was  forcibly  reminded  of  the  fact,  what  creatures  of  cir 
cumstances  we  are,  the  elegant,  and  accomplished  Jones, 
with  arms  akimbo,  surveying  the  ressults  of  his  labors  in 
the  soapy  fluid,  was  a  picture  to  be  remembered.  Jones 
sits  at  his  window,  quietly  enjoying  the  sport,  but  keeping 
a  sharp  look-out  for  stray  or  spent  balls.  Lieutenant 
Eufus  Polk,  is  passing,  he  is  a  son  of  the  widow  Polk,  of 


104  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

Columbia,  Tennessee,  and  a  nephew  of  James  K.  Polk, 
is  one  of  the  most  gentlemanly,  mild,  handsome,  brave 
boys,  I  have  ever  met.  ' '  Ruff. "  passes  by,  working  on  a 
ring,  I  suppose  he  is  making  for  some  loved  one  at  home. 
He  does  not  notice  the  projectile's,  but  moves  unscathed, 
leisurely  on.  Captain  MeLaughlin,  Tenth  Tennessee,  is 
sitting  on  a  log,  whitling,  turning  his  head  now  and  then, 
to  see  that  no  missile  is  in  too  close  proximity,  then  re 
turns  to  his  whittling.  The  captain  would  make  a  fine 
executive  officer,  having  splendid  business  qualifications, 
yet  is  a  No.  1  line  officer.  Lieutenant  Elijah  Thompson, 
makes  his  appearance  on  the  field.  "Lige,"  is  in  the 
Tennessee  Artillery  service,  and  is  the  leader  of  fashion 
in  the  pen,  there  is  no  discount  on  Thompson's  lighting 
•  proclivities,  style,  or  taste,  he  calmly  feels  that  he  is  a 
44  looker-on  in  Venice,"  and  is  neutral.  R-.  M.  Southall, 
lieutenant,  Tenth  Tennessee,  comes  out  with  a  dash, 
gives  a  nod  of  recognition  to  one,  a  grasp  of  the  hand  to 
another,  and  dashes  back,  as  rapidly  as  he  came,  where 
he  is  happily,  lost  in  "eucre,"  "cribbage,"  or  the 
guitar,  than  in  sham  light  alarms  of  the  Campus. 
u South"  is  a  "taking  man,"  in  any  circle,  where 
accomplishments  and  address  are  at,  or  above  par. 

The  fight  draws  to  a  close,  with  a  single  combat,  be 
tween  Captain  Leslie  Ellis,  of  the  Tenth  Tennessee, 
and  Lieutenant  Andrews,  of  Alabama.  All  others  cease 
hostilities,  and  leave  to  these  two  representatives  of  the 
opposing  hosts,  the  prowess  of  their  respective  allies,  the 
Parthian  mode  of  warfare  is  adopted,  with  varied  success. 
Lieutenant  Andrews  makes  a  happy  "hit,"  and  the  gay 
and  gallant  Ellis  retreats,  to  a  flight  of  steps,  he  again 
returns  to  the  attack,  anticipating  a  scarcity  of  ammuni 
tion,  on  the  part  of  his  adversary,  who  is  beating  a  hasty 
retreat,  the  captain  feeling  his  want  of  balls,  is  furnished 
by  an  ambushed  friend,  with  a  new  shell,  with  which  he 
now  pursues  his  fleeing  enemy,  who  seems  aware  of  the 
character  of  the  missile,  brought  to  bear  upon  him,  the 
combat  now  likened  that  of  the  Horaiae  and  Curaiae,  the 
shells  still  flew  around  the  head  of  the  merry  Andrew, 
until  an  unlucky  one,  with  well  directed  aim,  struck  the 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  105 

devoted  youth  upon  the  most  exposed  part  of  his  person, 
forcing  an  exclamation,  faugh  !  •  as  the  odor  from  the  shell 
threw  its  influence  around  him.  He  was  seriously,  but 
not  dangerously,  wounded,  a  few  moments  serving  to 
recuperate  him,  and  the  attack  was  renewed.  He 
was  furnished  with  the  same  horrible  missiles,  this  time, 
A  well  directed  shot,  from  Lieutenant  Andrews,  struck 
the  rear  of  Captain  Ellis'  fortifications,  rendering  him 
fiors  du  combat,  for  the  time  being,  an  armistice  was 
agreed  to,  the  combat  decided  to  be  a  drawn  one,  and  the 
issues  amicably  adjusted,  the  wounded  taken  from  the 
field,  most  of  them  half  shot,  a  few  in  the  neck,  all  of 
which  wTas  done  rapidly,  as  the  air  was  now  redolent, 
with  the  scent  from  the  exploded  shells,  satisfying  the 
engaged,  and  unengaged,  that  the  missiles  were  not  only 
destructive,  but  were  "  bad  eggs."  I  have  met  these 
pleasant  and  companionable  gentlemen  often  since,  and 
they  unite  in  saying,  that  since  the  engagement,  they 
have  both  been  quite  eggotistical.  This  combat  took 
place,  June  the  25th,  1862,  and  as  the  Federals  have,  was 
planned  by  General  McClellan,  and  the  ball  that  hit,  and 
kilt  Ellis,  was  fired  by  a  brother  of  Jackson. 

To  my  readers,  who  have  never  resided  within  the  pre 
cincts  of  a  military  prison,  we  give  some  observations  on 
the  character  of  a  prison  mess. 

A  prison  mess  is  not  like  that  of  an  army  or  ship's 
mess,  of  some  few  members,  but  contains  from  sixty  to 
one  hundred.  They  sleep  in  two  large  rooms,  in  bunks, 
called  with  us  single,  but  in  our  prison  two  were  forced 
into  each  ;  they  are  three  tiers  high,  the  uppermost  barely 
permitting  the  occupant  to  turn  over  without  brushing 
the  ceiling.  One  dining-room,  one  side  of  which  is  ar 
ranged  with  bunks,  which  renders  eating  at  times, 
disagreeable  to  a  man  of  sensitive  olfactories.  In  our 
room  there  are  ten  bare  plank  tables,  each  adorned  with 
ten  tin  plates,  an  equal  number  of  tin-cups,  two-pronged 
forks,  a  dull  knife,  and  an  iron  spoon,  a  chunk  of  bread 
about  the  size  of  your  fist,  to  each  plate,  which  allowance 
is  all  you  get  at  that  meal.  In  the  centre  of  the  table  is 
the  meat  allowance  for  ten  men,  seven  and  a  half  pounds 
8 


106  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

of  fat,  if  bacon,  and  twelve  and  a  half  pounds  of  mostly 
bone,  if  beef.  Coffee  is  poured  into*  your  cups  previous 
to  meals,  to  cool,  which  it  generally  does  quite  effectually. 
You  stand  up  to  eat,  and  don't  waste  time  at  the  table, 
breakfast  at  six,  dinner  at  half-past  eleven,  and  supper  at 
half-past  five,  P.  M.  We  retire  to  our  quarters  at  "  re 
treat,"  and  blow  out  our  lights  at  "taps,"  the  former 
being  beat  at  sundown,  the  latter  at  ten,  p.  M.,  and  then 
all  is  quiet,  until  the  treadmill  of  daily  movements  begins 
with  the  next  day's  sun. 

A  mess  of  one  hundred  men,  representing  different 
States,  stocks,  and  peculiar  characteristics,  thrown  together 
in  a  mass,  furnish  a  fine  field,  for  moral  and  intellectual 
dissection.     I  have  studied  the  mess,  and  show  them  up 
in  their  true  colors,  and,  as  each  mess  is  but  a  reflex  of 
the  others,  the  colorings  may  amuse  the  rest  of  my  fellow 
prisoners.     Our  mess  is  a  noisy  one,  a  result  of  the  influ 
ence  of  a  noisy  man  in  it,  as,   "  he  who  toucheth  pitch  is 
defiled,"  so  that  he,  who  associates  with  a  noisy  man,  soon 
becomes  noisy,  man  being  a  ductile  and  susceptible  animal . 
Our  noisy  man  is  1).  Thaddeus  Beall,  lieutenant  Twenty- 
sixth  Mississippi  Volunteers.     Lieutenant  Beall  was  mus 
tered  into  the  service  of  the  Confederate  States,  August 
20th,  1861,  and  belonged  to  that  gallant  State,  Mississippi, 
whose  people  have  rallied  en    mass,  to  the  call  of  the 
South  to  arms.     Among  the  hearts,  that  beat  a  prompt 
response  to  this  call,  was  the  gallant  lieutenant,   and, 
"  with  his  soul  in  arms,  and  eager  for  the  fray,"  he  rushed, 
frantically,   to  the  grocery,  and  there,  amidst  the  cries  of, 
"  Put  my  name  down,"  "  Give  me  (not  a  horse,  but)  an 
other   drink,"    or   a   "  Chew  of  tobacco,"    "  Heard  the 
news,"  "  Lincoln  's  going  to  arm  the  Niggers,  and  deso 
late  our  homes,"    "  Who'll  put  his  name  down,  in  my 
company  roll."     "  Mine  goes  on  that  list,"  says  the  chi- 
valric  Beall,  and  amidst,  "  Cheers  for  Davis,"  "  Bully  for 
South  Carolina,"  and  hurrah  for  the  lower  regions,  Beall 
was  elected  lieutenant.     The  party  were  then  treated,  by 
the  officer  elect,  who  vowed,  he  never  retreated,  but  that 
every  private  of  his  command  should  get  into  a  condition, 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        107 

to  appreciate  his  speech,  which  was  entirely  original-,  and 
summed  up,  as  follows : 

"  Strike  till  the  last  armed  Yank  expires, 
Strike  for  the  green  graves  of  your  sires." 

And  etc.     This  was  while  the  rank  and  file  were  joining 
in  the  chorus : 

"  On  the  wings  of  love  I  fly 
From  groceree  to  groceri." 

Beall  fought  at  Donaldson,  and  stood  well,  was  taken 
prisoner,  and  wound  up  at  this  place,  where  he  now  is, 
and  likely  to  remain,  as  his  corpulence  prevents  any  active 
exertion,  by  which  his  escape  might  be  effected. 

Our  witty  man  is  Hutton.  Punning  is  a  low  character 
of  wit,  yet  brilliant  sallies,  jokes,  and  bon  mots,  of  the 
man  of  genuine  wit,  are  acceptable  to  any  crowd,  there 
fore  Hutton  is  popular  with  the  mess.  Our  jokist  sleeps 
in  ths  upper  bunk,  and  says,  it  is  "  the  first  story  coming 
down  from  the  clouds,"  says,  he  is  above  the  malaria  of 
tobacco  spittle,  the  noxious  exhalations  which  do  not  reach 
Mm,  and  from  the  pure  atmosphere  of  his  perch,  he  ex 
presses  those  sallies  of  wit,  that  has  dubbed  him,  the  Hood 
of  the  mess.  Hutton  was  in  the  fight  at  Donaldson,  says, 
it  was  a  warm  affair,  and,  at  this  fight,  he  realized  for  the 
first  time,  "  the  incapacity  of  legs,  to  sustain  the  emotions 
of  a  heart,  to  whose  promptings  a  pair  of  flickering 
extremities  could  not  respond,  hence  Hutton  was  bagged 
and  bunked.  His  witticisms  are  often,  and  piquant,  and 
although  his  jokes  are  sometimes  broad,  they  are  gener 
ally  good,  and  he  is  still  secure  in  his  position,  as  the  wit 
of  Mess  2,  Block  8.  The  Irish  element  of  our  mess,  con 
sists  of  Burke,  Dwyer,  and  Fletcher.  The  former  is  a 
genuine  Celt,"  full  of  expletive  and  nervousness,  and  is 
noted,  for  accepting  a  challenge,  to  fight  at  ten  paces,  with 
double  charged  muskets  and  fixed  bayonets,  is  all  impulse, 
and,  like  all  Irishmen,  is  ready  to  fight,  if  you  tread  on 
the  tail  of  his  coat.  Dwyer  is  a  man  of  fine  proportions, 
and  my  beau-ideal  of  a  "  bould  soldier  boy."  He  was  a 
participant  in  the  Rebellion  of  '48,  in  Ireland,  is  an  en- 


108  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

thusiastic  follower  of  the  banner  of  freedom,  and  will  fol 
low  it  to  the  death.  Fletcher  was  a  «ommissioned  officer, 
in  Tappen's  Tenth  Arkansas  Volunteers,  made  his  mark 
at  the  battle  of  Belmont,  and  was  taken  prisoner,  at  Shi- 
loh.  He  is  from  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  is  a  good  liver,  and 
filled  with  the  spirit  of  adventure,  is  a  rigid  disciplinarian, 
an  efficient  soldier,  and,  like  all  of  Celtic;  origin,  is  ever 
ready  for  a  discussion  "  with  sthicks."  He  takes  his  im 
prisonment  cooly,  and  gives  his  own  experience,  as  follows : 
"  I  was  born  in  the  county  of  Tipperary,  Ireland,  Decem 
ber  14th,  1835,  imported  to  the  United  States,  March 
7th,  1843,  left  the  fangs  of  that  government,  at  St.  Louis, 
Missouri,  May  14th,  1861,  for  having  whipped,  on  the 
llth  of  the  same,  "  Old  Fagan,"  (the  biggest  miller  and 
Union  man  of  that  city,)  for  having  upheld  the  shameful 
conduct  of  the  Dutch,  who  massacred  the  citizens,  in  the 
camp  Jackson  affair.  I  could  add  several  minor  fights,  to 
the  list  of  those,  in  which  I  was  engaged,  in  our  espoused 
cause  of  liberty,  but  do  not  think  it  necessary,  to  refer  to 
any,  except  the  four  pitched  battles  of  Carthage,  Spring 
field,  Belmont,  and  Shiloh.  At  the  battle,  last  mentioned, 
"  killed  completely,"  (to  say  nothing  of  several  bad  hurts, 
whose  marks  I  bear  from  the  former  ones,)  was  what  they 
put  on  the  muster-rolls,  opposite  my  name.  I  was  brought, 
a  corpse  (to  liberty)  to  this  prison,  having  been  packed, 
without  ice,  with  several  others,  dead,  soldiers  like  myself, 
in  steamboat  and  car,  and  exposed,  along  the  whole  route, 
to  the  rude  gaze  and  gaping  stare  of  the  Union-shriekers. 
I  embarked  in  this,  my  military  career,  short,  as  it  has 
been,  as  a  "  private,"  under  the  "  noblest  Roman  of  them 
all,"  the  gallant  Sterling  Price,  and  when  found  dead,  at 
Shiloh,  it  was  my  boast,  that  in  the  lineal  rank  of  our 
"  Grand  army"  I  was  next  to  that  of  my  captain.  When 
day  of  resurrection,  for  "  dead  soldiers"  arrives,  I  trust, 
that  I  may  rank  him,  at  any  rate,  I  know  that  I  will  get 
a  "  brevet,"  equal  to  his,  for  "  services  and  faithful  per 
formance  of  duties,"  as  a  prisoner,  for  carrying  water, 
"euchreing"  the  Federal  suttlers  out  of  newspapers, 
keeping  out  of  the  range  of  our  sentries'  guns,  etc.  My 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  109 

eyes  fill  at  the  thought  of  all  these,  and  may  this  happy 
day  of  resurrection' soon  come  to  all  of  us  prisoners." 

Our  quiet  man,  Dr.  Warren,*  is  one  of  the  most  affable 
gentlemen  of  our  mess.  He  is  the  great  pacificator,  is 
usually  the  referee,  and  one  of  the  most  placid  of  our 
motley  group,  and  from  his  application  to  study  and 
sedentary  habits  is  very  reserved,  his  urbanity  of  manner, 
has  entitled  him  to  the  respect  of  the  entire  mess.  He  is 
from  Kentucky,  and  like  all  her  sovereigns,  thinks  there 
is  no  place  like  the  "  dark  and  bloody  ground."  The 
doctor  volunteered  from  Mississippi,  and  as  he  is  naturally 
proud  of  his  native  State,  is  equally  as  much  so  of  his 
adopted  one,  that  has  done  so  much  for  Southern  rights, 
and  honor. 

Captain  James  N.  Bolen  represents  the  cavalry  in  our 
mess.  This  gentleman  belongs  to  the  Kentucky  cavalry, 
and  was  among  those  dashing  horsemen,  whose  sabres  are 
ever  flashing,  between  the  Ohio  and  Tennessee,  and  who, 
under  the  command  of  Morgan  and  King,  are  making 
havoc  among  the  hordes  of  the  enemy,  who  are  scattered 
from  Louisville  to  Corinth.  Bolen  is  an  off-handed,  plain- 
spokeii  man,  of  force  and  character,  satirical,  and  good 
at  repartee,  is  a  good  soldier,  and  those  who  know  him 
best,  will  admire  his  candor,  and  excuse  his  crudeness. 

Lieutenant  R.  J.  Moore,  of  the  Twenty-sixth  Mississippi 
Regiment,  is  the  literary  genius  of  our  mess.  In  looking 
at  Moore,  I  am  impressed  with  the  fact,  how  poorly  we 
judge  one  another.  Why  is  it  ?  It  is,  because  we  accept, 
improperly,  first  impressions  as  lasting,  and  confuse  the 
simple  street  introduction,  or  a  night's  acquaintance,  with 
that  of  a  few  days,  for  it  is  only  upon  a  cultivation  of  your 
new  acquaintance,  allowing  a  period  of  time  to  appreciate 
his  or  her  attributes,  you  are  not  impressed  by  a  passing 
glance,  as  it  requires  remarkable  perceptive  faculties,  in 
such  instance,  to  even  approximate  to  the  realities  of  your 
subject,  you  must  examine  each  feature,  you  must  hear 
the  subject  talk,  must  draw  out  idea  after  idea,  and  thus, 
by  study,  you  can  easily  select  congenial  friends.  There- 

*  Dr.  Warren,  physician,  Friar's  Point,  Mississippi. 


110        SCKAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

fore  I  believe  first  impressions  are  lasting,  but  it  does  not 
imply  that  the  figure  in  the  sand  by^he  sea-side,  that  each 
wave  destroys,  or  a  handful  of  spray  may  dissipate,  is 
lasting,  but  I  accept  rather  the  simile  of  the  photograph, 
which  shows,  that  while  the  operation  is  instantaneous, 
yet  there  are  powerful  combinations  studied  and  used,  to 
establish  the  impressions  they  impart  to  the  subject. 
Lieutenant  Moore  would  deceive  you,  at  first  glance, 
calm,  and  apparently  unimpassioned,  he  is  a  Vesuvius,  or 
Hecla,  at  rest,  only  awaiting  a  vent,  that  will  allow  the 
smouldering  fires,  to  Ipirst  forth  in  resistless  fury,  with 
inspiration  to  have  made  him  a  crusader,  who  would  have 
followed  Richard,  or  Godfrey  d'Bouillion,  to  the  walls 
of  Jerusalem,  and  yet  but  few  men  have  more  of  the  milk 
of  human  kindness  in  them,  thon  Lieutenont  Moore. 

The  Boulevards  of  Paris,  Savastopol  Des  Italians  and 
Capucan,  are  among  the  principal  lounging  thorough 
fares  of  that  gay  capital.  London  has  her  Pall  Mall  and 
Regent  street,  and  New  Orleans  its  Canal,  St.  Royale 
and  St.  Charles,  New  York  its  Broadway,  and  why  not 
the  denizens  of  this  Confederate  capital  have  our  promen 
ade  and  resort.  Our  principal  walk  is  enjoyed  by  the 
figures  of  a  thousand  officers,  who  can  boast  as  pure  a 
descent  as  a  Howard  or  De  Courcy.  The  principal  ren 
dezvous  of  the  bloods  is  in  front  of  the  post-office,  which 
from  the  construction  of  the  buildings,  affords  shade  to 
the  lovers  of  debate.  Each  of  the  thirteen  buildings  has 
a  wood-pile,  and  here,  with  knives  in  hand,  the  sir  oracles 
of  the  prison,  will  with  Delphic  mystery,  explain  while 
whittling  the  signification  of  the  times.  In  other 
countries,  little  tables  are  placed  before  you  with  beer, 
and  etceteras,  but  with  us,  conversation  must  be  the  pro 
duction  of  the  brain,  and  not  of  the  spirit,  however,  a  drop 
or  so  does  get  in  some  time,  and  ts  potency  is  often  felt,  in- 
creasidg  animation  and  boisterous  conversation,  the  pas 
sers  by  are  bitterly  criticised,  for  men  are,  (if  the  truth 
must  be  told,)  more  garrulous  than  women.  There  goes 
a  man  with  long  hair,  richly  colored  and  luxuriant.  "  I'd 
cut  that  hair  oft',''  says  one,  "  perhaps  he  told  his  gal,  he 
would  not  cut  it  off  until  he  came  back,"  "  he  looks  gay 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  Ill 

and  festive,"  says  another.  "  Pea  Ridge,"  as  we  call  him, 
happens  to  fancy  long  hair,  and  such  being  the  case,  I 
think  he  has  a  right  to  wear  it — it  seems  strange  that 
men's  peculiarities  are  not  understood.  One  man  wears 
long  hair,  and  is  a  gallant  soldier  ;  another  wants  to  be  a 
tiger,  shaves  his  head,  and  would  jump  out  of  his  boots  at 
the  report  of  a  six-pounder,  in  other  cases,  the  long-haired 
man  is  au  arrant  coward — short-haired  one,  a  Stonewall 
Jackson.  Some  men  in  our  pen  will  wash  out  of  a  tin- 
cup,  when  they  can  buy  a  basin  for  fifteen  cents,  that  is  a 
peculiarity  that  does  not  unfit  the  man  for  the  duties  of 
life,  yet  subjects  him  to  rediculous  comment.  I  know 
other  men  in  prison,  who  have  the  reputation  of  being 
gallant  officers,  with  ample  funds  at  their  command,  who 
will  buy  a  five  cent  pie,  go  off  to  one  side,  and  eat  it,  not 
in  peace,  for  no  man,  so  lost  to  generous  impulses,  could 
have  a  quiet  conscience,  but  by  the  piece,  that  is  their 
peculiarity. 

"  Well,"  says  Lieutenant  L.  Gr.  Brindley,  of  the  Forti 
eth  Tennessee,  "  I  wonder  when  we  will  be  exchanged  ?" 
and  -so  he  asks  every  time  he  sees  me.  My  answer  is 
uniformly  courteous,  because  I  feel  that  Brindly  wants  to 
know — that's  his  peculiarity. 

J.  W.  Kuykendall,  captured  at  Mill  Springs,  belonged 
to  the  fighting  Fifteenth  Mississippi,  takes  a  seat  by  me 
on  a  chunk,  but  does  not  criticise.  He  is  a  pleasant  gen 
tleman,  was  assistant  post-master  at  camp  Chase,  at  which 
prison  I  reaped  the  benefit  of  his  agreeable  manners. 
Kuykendall  always  wears  his  pants  in  his  boots — that's 
his  peculiarity. 

F.  M.  Atkins  is  on  the  campus,  playing  -ball.  I  can  see 
Mm,  in  the  distance,  striking  with  one  arm.  Atkins 
joined  the  army  with  one  arm,  and  is  risking  the  other  for 
independence.  He  could  have  remained  at  home,  but 
that  was  not  his  peculiarity,  or  any  of  the  Forty-ninth 
Tennessee,  if  I  know  them,  and  I  think  I  do. 

Captain  Mclntyre  is  retiring,  it  seems,  to  the  casual 
observer,  taciturn  and  sour.  That  quietude  is  his  peculi 
arity,  and  covers  the  brave  man,  as  his  wound  in  the  face, 
at  Springfield,  Missouri,  clearly  shows. 


112  SCKAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

Captain  S.  Q.  Carey,  who  acted  well  at  tho  battle  of 
Booneville,  is  as  sour,  to  all  appearances,  as  a  crab-apple, 
but  Carey,  when  you  enow  him,  is  an  agreeable  compani 
on.  His  peculiarity  is  bad  health. 

Lieutenant  T.  Johnson,  of  Nashville,  Forty-ninth  Ten 
nessee  Regiment,  is  seemingly  puffed  up,  and  consequen 
tial,  but  Johnson  acted  well  at  Donaldson.  His  pecu 
liarity  consists  in  weight,  being  rather  embonpoint^  for  a 
young  man,  yet  know  him  well,  and  you  exclaim,  a  dev'lish 
clever  American  (not  English)  fellow. 

Lieutenant-colonel  Finney  is  a  man,  who  must  have  an 
out-fit,  to  feel  right.  Put  the  colonel  in  old  clothes,  and 
he  will  be  miserable ;  yet,  with  his  vanity,  he  has  nerve 
and  polish,  and  wants  the  elegant  tilings,  because  he  has 
bsen  accustomed  to  them. 

Captain  Joiner  is  a  retiring,  and  one  of  the  most  modest 
gentlemen  in  prison,  is  generally  in  dishabille,  and  to  look 
at  him,  it  is  difficult  to  realize,  that  Joiner,  in  his  prison- 
quarters,  and  Joiner  in  the  drawing-room,  the  pattern  of 
a  neat  exterior,  are  one  and  the  same  person — but  that's 
Joiner's  peculiarity. 

*Lieutenant  W.  R.  Culvertson,  Porter's  battery,  and 
P.  K.  Stankemitz,  captain  heavy  battery.  These  gentle 
men  are  knights  of  the  sheares,  and  to  see  them  cutting 
and  stitching,  you  would  not  think,  that  so  much  fire  and 
courage  could  spring  from  so  quiet  an  appearing  element. 
Yet  it  is  so,  they  are  as  brave  and  dashing,  as  any  in  the 
service.  Many  a  poor  fellow  is  slandered,  as  he  passes 
this  or  that  group,  about  his  peculiarities,  if  he  has  bad  or 
good  clothes,  too  many  or  too  few  stripes,  no  matter  what 
color,  he  is  sure  to  be  subjected  to  the  ordeal  of  the  loung 
ers  :  "  There  goes  a  chap,  'who  wants  to  be  major  of  his 
regiment,  he  can't  drill  a  squad  ;"  "  There's  a  splendid 
field  officer,  I'll  bet  a  hundred,  I've  a  sergeant  who  can 
beat  him  manoeuvring  his  own  regiment."  Mens  peculi 
arities  and  eccenticities  are  not  borne  with,  because  they 
are  not  understood,  and  'tis  a  good  thing,  that  the  world 
does  not  know,  what  is  said  of  them,  because  if  'twas  so, 

*  Died  in  1862. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  113 

there  would  not  be  four  friends  in  it,  'tis  to  a  great  degree 
harmless,  and  much  of  it  said  thoughtlessly,  not  intending 
oifend,  yet  if  it  should  unfortunately  come  to  the  ears  of 
the  party,  it  was  aimed  at,  possibly  a  false  sense  of  shame 
to  yield  to  truth,  for  fear  of  public  opinion,  the  most  re 
lentless  of  all  social  tyrannies,  would  incite  the  offender, 
to  refuse  the  amende  honorable,  and  the  result  in  many 
cases,  the  loss  of  friendship,  and  the  engendering  of  hate, 
and  in  many  cases,  nothing  but  blood  will  atone  for  the 
idle  expression.  The  tongue  is  an  unruly  member,  and 
if  it  offends  thee,  thou  hadst  better  cut  it  out.  Twilight 
is  taking  her  shadows  with  her,  and  the  wood-piles  are 
deserted,  the  sergeants  are  around,  hunting  up  the  six 
axes,  with  which  the  entire  prison  is  furnished,  to  cut  our 
wood  during  the  day,  and  at  night  they  are  taken  out,  for 
fear  we  might  use  them,  also  our  superintendent  has  sev 
eral  axes  to  grind.  The  departure  of  the  sergeants  from 
the  campus,  leaves  the  Boulevard  Beauregard  deserted. 

(DEDICATED  TO  LIEUTENANT  COLONEL  w.  T.  AVERT.) 

Those  that  have  hash,  have  trouble  about  it ; 
Those  that  have  none,  have  trouble  without  it. 

Hash  is  to  the  denizens  of  Johnson's  island,  what  the 
far-famed  tongue  of  the  peacock  was  to  the  Roman  epicures 
or  "  lentils"  to  a  distinguished  foreigner. 

There  is  an  individual  in  our  pen  that  has  complained 
of  the  quality  of  "  hash"  furnished  prisoners.  The  result 
was,  the  cook  appealed  to  the  mess,  composed  of  some  our 
most  distinguished  officers,  who  met  in  conclave,  and 
appointed  a  committee  to  settle  the  vexatious  question. 
The  members  of  said  committee  were  Colonels  Baker, 
Avery,  and  Clark,  Major  Brown  and  Captain  Dawson. 
By  a  unanimous  call,  Colonel  Avery  was  selected  as  chair 
man,  and  after '  calling  the  meeting  to  order,  remarked 
"That  since  he  had  forsaken  the  halls  of  legislation,  and 
planted  his  stake  on  the  tented  field,  he  had  ceased  to 
declaim,  and  only  presented  or  manipulated  tangible 
subjects.  Theory  with  him  had  played  out,  now  he  had 
espoused  the  practical  duties  of  life,  and  to  sum  up,  he 


114  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

would  give  in  the  morning,  a  practical  solution  of  the 
4  hash  question,'  if  the  committee  would  trust  him  with 
the  subject."  A  hearty  concurrence  was  the  response,  and 
the  committee  retired  to  the  hall,  making  a  report  in 
accordance  with  the  facts  elicited.  Day  broke  in  all  its 
glory,  and  never  did  old  Sol  throw  a  brighter  halo  around 
a  more  anxious  assemblage,  than  the  mess  in  block  one, 
as  they  nervously  awaited  the  signal  that  was  to  announce 
to  their  all  ready  watering  mouths  and  excited  stomachs, 
that  the  great  question  of  "hash  "  had  to  be  settled  ere  the 
drum's  martial  beat  sounded  the  breakfast  call.  We  now 
return  to  the  chairman,  he  whose  assumption  of  the 
complicated  and  knotty  question,  had  so  relieved  the 
minds  of  his  associates.  His  pride  had  been  touched  with 
the  insinuation  that  hash  was  not  good  enough  for 
prisoners.  His  feelings  naturally  buoyant,  were  depressed 
at  the  ill-timed  reflection  of  the  favorite  dish  at  the  time 
of  Johnson's  island.  What  if  Cleopatra  did  dissolve 
pearls  upon  bread,  and  make  a  breakfast  of  them  ?  It  was 
because  she  had  no  "  hash."  The  Cafe  de  Mille  Colon 
is  famous  for  catering,  but  would  be  more  so  if  it 
could  make  "  hash."  In  Brussels  they  have  an  imitation 
called  "  bullet,"  but  it  is  not  "  hash."  Not  on  this  green 
earth  is  there  a  place  where  you  can  get  this  grand  mollifier 
in  its  perfection,  but  in  the  quiet  retreat  of  Johnson's 
island.  Knowing  this,  the  chairman  determined  he  would 
serve  a  dish,  that  would  satiate  even  the  great  Handel,  and 
one  that  would  settle  forever,  the  question,  "  is  hash  good 
for  prisoners  ?" 

Oily  subjects  are  not  of  reputed  tenacity,  yet  they  have  a 
tenaciousness  of  purpose  and  stick  like  glue,  or  u  death  to 
a  dead  Nigger,"  or  "  quills  to  a  fretful  porcupine."  In 
their  properties  they  seem  to  affect  tin  plates  more  than 
any  other  solids.  Polished  surfaces  are  easily  influenced, 
and  it  is  only  by  the  severest  action,  that  the  feat  of 
removing  the  slippery  element  is  accomplished.  Oil  from 
the  Polar  whale  ;  oil  from  the  seal  and  walrus  ;  petroleum 
or  rock  oil  as  oleagenous  as  they  may  be,  have  not  the 
same  stickitotiveness  as  the  genuine  oil  from  hash.  Then 
again,  plates  are  not  easily  handled ;  acrobatic  feats,  those 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  115 

of  the  Chinese  jugglers,  with  feats  by  Hernandez  and 
other  wizards,  have  astonished  the  world ;  but  had  they 
the  manipulation  of  prison  hash  plates,  they  would  have 
signally  failed.  Hercules,  when  he  attempted  the  cleaning 
of  the  Augean  stable,  had  not  half  the  difficulties  to  sur 
mount  as  our  chairman.  If  like  Xerxes,  lashing  would 
have  done  any  good,  he  would  have  vented  his  wrath  on 
the  water  with  his  dish-rag,  that  now  loomed  up  with  its 
greasy  surface  as  foul  as  the  Styx  appeared  to  Charon,  when 
he  took  his  first  trip  as  a  ferryman ;  and  the  shirt  of  Nessus 
never  felt  as  terrible  to  its  victim,  as  the  influence  of  rag 
and  apron  upon  the  frenzied  defender  of  the  great  and 
undying  system  of  "  hash,"  but  with  that  stoicism  that  so 
distinguished  the  stoics  that  made  Csesar,  while  perishing, 
exclaim  "  et  tu  Brute,"  which  many  suppose  alludes  to  his 
carniverous  inclination,  that  held  the  Roman  finger  in  the 
blaze  until  burnt  off,  that  made  the  Spartan  youth  secrete 
the  fox  under  his  garment,  'till  he  eat  into  his  entrails, 
and  now  will  be  calm  and  collected,  while  the  streams  of 
society  are  running  knee-deep  in  gore,  bloody  hands  are 
held  up,  and  gory  locks  are  shaking  North,  East,  South 
and  West,  exclaiming,  "thou  cans't  not  say  I  did  it." 
He  looks  at  the  mountains  of  plates,  shining  with  some 
fatty  substance,  that  tells  of  mutilated  efforts  to  make 
"  hash"  visions  of  disjointed  meats  and  particled  grissels, 
seem  to  be  heaped  up  like  a  volcanic  eruption,  in  the 
place  he  had  selected  to  open  his  new  system.  Pieces  of 
bread  He  scattered  over  the  tables,  grinning  at  the  pigmy, 
who  was  to  change  them  from  their  natural  shape  into  a 
mass  of  what-not,  a  jumble  of  elements.  Even  the 
disintegrated  meat  seemed  to  offer  up  feeble  petitions  to 
the  energetic  artiste  gastronomic,  who,  like  Ajax,  defying 
the  lightning,  stood  boldly  and  bravely  amid  the  wreck  of 
the  dinner  of  the  day  previous.  He  began  his  task,  rushing 
here  and  there,  pile  after  pile  of  plates  sank  beneath  his 
gigantic  rag ;  meat  and  bread  were  buried  promiscuously 
in  the  vortex  of  the  loud-mouthed  cauldron.  He  waxed 
warm,  large  drops  of  sweat  ran  down  his  cheeks,  but  he 
felt  triumphant,  the  pot  was  closed,  the  committee  entered, 
it  was  then  opened  and  a  specimen  served  on  a  plate  and 


116  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

tasted  by  Colonel  Baker,  who  with  %an  expression,  that 
would  have  electrified  even  that  stupid  Horace  Maynard, 
of  Tennessee,  "A very,  d — d  if  you  can  make  hash."  One 
howl  went  up  from  the  committee  as  the  report  was  made, 
which  was  as  follows  : 

"  Those  that  have  hash  are  troubled  about  it — 
Those  that  have  none  are  troubled  without  it." 

Since  his  discomfiture,  Colon  el  A  very  has  confined  him 
self  to  the  more  congenial  pursuits  of  "  hewing  wood  and 
drawing  water,"  and  may  be  seen,  of  a  pleasant  afternoon, 
after  the  duties  of  the  day  are  over,  strolling  about  the 
campus,  feeling  like  Othello,  "  that  his  occupation's 
gone,"  and  in  his  musings  and  often  soliloquies,  indulges 
in  the  reflection,  that  if  Alpheus  Baker  is  not  a  prophet, 
or  the  son  of  one,  he  is  a  good  judge  of  '  hash.'  His  ex 
perience  has  done  him  much  good,  and  he  is  tranquil  and 
happy,  only  when  reminded  of  his  failure,  then  merely 
giving  vent  to  his  feelings  in  the  quaint  remark,  "d — n 
the  hash." 

"  Religion  is  the  chief  concern  of  mortals  here  below." 

In  the  endless  variety  of  human  nature,  within  our 
precincts,  are  our  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  some  of  whom 
are  men  of  much  character.  It  is  an  unquestionable  and 
incontrovertible  fact,  that  every  man  has  some  semblance 
about  him  of  the  Christian ;  he  may  not  be  Methodist, 
Presbyterian  or  Catholic,  but  his  sympathies  are  with  the 
sufferings  of  our  Savior ;  he  has  a  dormant  realization  of 
the  great  sacrifice  for  man,  and  his  innate  promptings  are 
to  accept,  as  messengers  of  mercy  and  types  of  their 
Master,  those  men,  who,  if  necessary,  are  to  take  neither 
purse  nor  scrip,  but  to  go  into  all  the  world  and  preach 
the  Gospel  to  every  creature ;  even  should  the  man  not 
sensibly  realize  his  situation  as  a  sinner,  and  feel  his  need 
of  a  Savior,  he  may,  perhaps,  be  impressed  with  the 
purity  of  that  worthy  representative,  a  true  minister  of 
Christ ;  halt  and  consider,  and  then,  with  proper  appli 
ances,  the  wooing  and  the  storming,  i£  necessary,  of  his 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        117 

heart  bj  the  preacher  of  tact,  he  may  become  a  disciple 
of  the  meek  and  lowly  Jesus,  but  whether  he  be  so  or 
otherwise,  the  man,  unless  a  brute,  is  influenced  by  a 
Divine  of  piety  and  judgment,  of  whom  we  have  several 
in  prison,  and  •  their  influence  is  wonderful.  On  the 
Sabbath,  many  of  which  the  author  has  passed  in 
prison,  the  thousand  officers  retire  to  their  rooms,  or 
promenade,  no  cards  or  ball-playing,  no  rioting,  nor 
shouting,  but  regular  and  full  attendance  at  the  morning 
and  evening  services,  and  a  universal  reign  of  quiet  and 
decorum.  This  is  as  it  should  be,  and  shows  the  influ 
ence  of  these  ministerial  aids  to  the  Bible,  in  dissemi 
nating  its  holy  teachings,  and  diffusing  the  cheering  rays 
of  Christianity,  with  all  its  concomitants  of  peace  civiliza 
tion,  and  humane  progression.  Captain  A.  J.  Wither- 
spoon,  chaplain  of  the  Twenty-first  Alabama  Regiment ; 
this  model  of  the  ministerial  profession,  is  a  gentleman 
I  have  become  warmly  attached  to,  he  is  mild,  quiet,  and 
affable,  and  an  orator,  of  persuasive  style,  with  much 
perspicuity,  and  to  whom  I  listen  with  pleasure;  not 
to  his  bold  and  vehement  flights  alone,  but  to  his  chaste 
and  concise  sentences,  clothed  with  humility  of  mien,  he 
is  one  of  the  gentlest  and  kindest  men  I  ever  met,  yet  the 
compressed  lips  show  determination  and  courage,  when 
occasion  calls  for  it,  which  was  well  exhibited  on  the  field 
of  Shiloh,  where  his  attentions  to  the  wounded,  under 
the  terrific  fire  of  that  Sunday  struggle,  marked  him 
most  eminently  as  one  whom  the  terrors  of  the  battle 
field  could  not  deter  from  performing  the  duties  of  his 
profession.  Dr.  Witherspoon  is  a  protege  of  the  great 
Thornwell,  of  South  Carolina,  and  takes  much  of  his 
ministerial  inspiration  from  that  able  divine,  whose 
sermon  of  June  3d,  1860,  on  board  the  steamer  Adriatic, 
still  remains  in  my  memory. 

William  H.  Adams,  chaplain  of  the  Forty-third  Ten 
nessee  Regiment.  Captain  Adams  is  a  firm  and  good 
man,  of  some  ability,  and  much  force  of  character,  is  on 
the  Cromwellian  order,  and  would  carry  the  sword  in  one 
hand  and  the  Gospel  in  the  other,  who  preaches  a  good 
practical  sermon. 


118  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

E.  Hogue,  Eleventh  Arkansas,  J.  B.  Overton,  Second 
Kentucky,  H.  H.  Robinson,  Third  Mississippi,  A.  G. 
Taylor,  Fourteenth  Mississippi,  J,  F.  Walker,  Fifty-third 
Tennessee,  and  A.  A.  Wilson,  Fiftieth  Tennessee. 
These  gentlemen  are  all  reputed  good -men,  and  are 
certainly  zealous  in  the  cause,  ;  the  two  latter  I  have 
heard  preach.  Captain  Wilson  is  a  man  of  much  genius, 
and  quite  a  pleasant  delivery.  These  are  the  eight 
righteous  men  here,  I  hope  they  will  save  us,  yet  ten  was 
required  in  Sodom. 

"  Now  the  brooding  silence  deepens, 

And  the  scene  is  one  of  rest, 
While  the  wrecked  day  drifts  down  gradually, 
To  be  stranded  in  the  west." 

Aurora  is  gathered  to  her  fathers,  and  her  radient  train, 
with  their  peerless  influence,  are  seeking  the  realms  of 
night,  there  to  repose  'till  the  call  to  orisons  is  heralded 
by  the  lark.  How  beautiful  the  prismatic  colorings  of  the 
robes  of  the  etherial  throng,  as  they  sink  beneath  the 
blushing  horizon;  the  crimson  intermingling  with  the 
cerulean  depths  of  Heavens  space,  the  glittering  spray 
reflecting  a  myriad  of  colors,  from  tinted  cloud-banks. 
'Tis  beautiful,  but  transitory ;  they  gather  their  skirts, 
their  drapery  dips  into  the  silvery  lake,  they  lave  their 
shining  faces  in  the  limpid  waters,  their  gossamer  robes, 
spangled  with  the  glittering  spray  drops  that  have  nestled 
in  their  laps  ;  they  sink  into  the  vast  deep,  and  the  sire 
of  them  all,  twilight,  closes  the  portals  of  day  upon  their 
fading  shadows.  'Tis  a  pleasant  melancholy,  that  steals 
o'er  the  senses  during  this  period,  when  the  great  strug 
gle  seems  to  take  place  for  supremacy,  between  the  going 
and  coming  powers  of  day  and  night.  Like  all  natural 
convulsions,  they  startle  and  impress,  the  day  is  dead  to 
all,  and  the  eye  that  scans  the  horizon,  to  witness  the 
last  effort  of  the  mighty  power,  as  he  sinks  into  the  abyss 
of  night,  turns  away  conscious  of  the  vacancy  in 
nature.  The  approach  of  night  is  soothing,  but  not  as 
cheering  as  the  lively  morn,  yet  the  calm  of  the  one, 
and  the  exhilaration  of  the  other,  commingle,  and  exert 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        119 

a  charming  influence  in  the  deepening  twilight.  The 
groups  that  have  been  playing  and  frisking  on  the  sward, 
have  resolved  into  contemplative  sets.  There  goes  a 
squad  of  the  boys  of  fifty  years  ago,  they  are  the  men  of 
the  progressive  present,  and  as  they  saunter  along,  dis 
cussing  the  merits  of  this  or  that .  strategic  movement  of 
our  different  commanders ;  one  wonders  how  the  times 
and  fashions  change.  They  are  Lieutenants  Samuel  P. 
and  John  Walker,  Kirtland,  Kelsey  and  Duncan  ;  the 
first  two  are  sons  of  Samuel  P.  Walker,  of  Memphis, 
Tennessee,  nephews  of  James  K.  Polk,  formerly  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States.  This  family  influence,  has 
given  the  young  Walkers  many  advnntages  of  society  and 
purse,  that  they  show  marks  of,  in  their  gentlemanly 
bearing,  and  general  urbanity.  They  are  lieutenants  in 
the  Fortieth  Tennessee,  commanded  by  their  uncle 
Colonel  (now  General)  Marsh  Walker.  Lieutenant 
Samuel  Walker  is  a  fine  tactician.  John  is  younger,  yet 
a  quick  student.  Lieutenants  Kirtland  and  Kelsey,  are 
^residents  of  the  city  of  Memphis,  young  men  of  intelli 
gence,  but  as  their  connection  with  the  army  was  only 
of  a  few  weeks  previous  to  their  capture,  I  know  but 
little  of  their  military  ability.  Lieutenant  Greene  Dun 
can  is  from  Kentucky,  and  a  promising  officer.  Lieu 
tenant  McKay,  is  also  a  Kentuckian,  one  of  those 
desperate  men,  who  figured  in  the  Walker  expedition  in 
Nicaraugua,  and  followed  the  grey  eyed  man  of  destiny, 
until  his  star  set  in  the  night  of  an  unsuccessful  Revolution. 
During  that  terrible  campaign  the  lieutenant  lay  upon  the 
brick  floor  of  a  cabin,  with  a  block  of  wood  for  a  pillow, 
suffering  for  thirty  days  with  yellow  fever;  he  is  one  of 
the  best  disciplinarians  in  the  service.  This  group  has 
scanned  the  horizon,  as  the  sun  has  left  its  last  ray  upon 
the  blue  vault  above,  and  with  a  few  straggling  expres 
sions  about  exchange,  and  the  future  of  the  Confederacy, 
they  wend  their  way  leisurely  back  to  their  quarters. 
Another  group  passes  conversing  with  much  animation. 
There  is  genius  and  wit  in  that  circle.  Captain  Jesse 
Taylor,  of  the  artillery,  a  regular  navy  officer  of  the 
United  States,  is  replete  with  sallies.  Captain  Weed,  of 


120        SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

St.  Louis,  Missouri,  is  an  officer  of  merit,  he  was  formerly 
of  the  house  of  Abbott,  Johns  &  Co*.,  of  Philadelphia, 
but  has  espoused  the  cause  of  the  Confederate  States, 
with  much  enthusiasm.  Captain  Simmons,  of  Missouri, 
of  the  editorial  corps,  was  early  connected  with,  and  was 
a  great  friend  of  General  Jeff.  Thompson,  in  the 
struggle  in  Missouri,  at  the  opening  of  the  war.' 

Captain  Wash.  Gordon*  is  passing,  apparently  musing 
upon  the  reign  of  terror  that  afflicts  his  family  at  home. 
He  is  a  middle  aged  man,  of  piety  and  fearlessness,  and 
an  honest  man,  "the  noblest  work  of  God,"  of  mild 
manners,  with  many  Christian  virtues.  He  is  a 
shining  light  in  our  circle.  He  is  a  firm  and  decided 
sympathizer  with  the  down-trodden  South,  #nd  will  rot 
in  prison,  rather  than  his  government  shall  abate  a  jot  or 
tittle  of  her  just  demands,  for  an  honoreble  exchange  of 
prisoners.  We  all  love  Captain  Gordon,  not  alone  for  his 
gallantry  in  the  field,  but  for  his  consistent  walk  and  con 
versation  in  durance,  and  as  he  leads  the  evening  prayer 
meeting,  with  the  fervor  of  a  zealous  Christian,  showing  his 
faith  by  his  works,  we  can't  help  regretting,  that  there  are  as 
few  such  men  in  our  distracted  country.  Captain  George 
W.  Gordon  is  the  father  of  nine  children,  two  of  his  sons 
now  in  the  service  of  their  native  State,  Tennessee.  He 
was  captured  at  Fort  Donaldson,  and  bears  his  imprison 
ment  with  patience,  he  is  of  a  family  of  patriotic  men  and 
women,  one  of  whom  alone  is  known  to  me  personally. 
His  sister,  Mrs.  Sarah  C.  Law,  of  Memphis,  Tennessee. 
This  estimabie  lady  is  one  of  the  old  time  matrons,  keenly 
alive  to  the  woes  of  suffering  humanity,  she  has  not  ne 
glected  a  mother's  duty,  as  her  dhildren  are  remarkable 
for  piety  and  intelligence. 

Mrs.  Law  is  one  of  the  originators  of  the  most  perfect 
systems  of  hospital  treatment  in  the  South,  she  has  been 
unsparing  in  her  efforts,  her  energies  have  never  relaxed 
in  assisting  and  soothing  a  sufferer,  and  is  of  vigorous 
sympathies,  great  strength  of  character,  and  a  beacon 

*  Captain  Gordon  died  at  Vicksburg,  Mississippi,  September.  1862,  from 
disease  caused  by  exposure,  incidental  to  that  tortuous  trip  of  thirteen  dayi 
on  the  river. 


SCRAPS  FKOM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  121 

light   of  the   Presbyterian   church    community   of    her 
city. 

Captain  Meadows,  of  the  First  Alabama  Regiment, 
while  passing  within  the  line  of  stakes,  (laid  by  our  cap 
tors,)  and  totally  unconscious  of  any  danger,  was  shot  and 
badly  wounded  in  the  leg,  by  a  buckshot,  discharged  by 
a  cowardly  sentinel  upon  the  wall.  The  wound  is  severe, 
but  not  dangerous.  The  act,  the  superintendent  says,  he 
"  does  not  justify,"  as  it  displayed  a  feeling  of  brutality, 
as  a  brave  man  seeks  revenge,  for  a  supposed  insult  to  his 
Hag,  by  enlisting  in  a  safe  place  for  ninety  days,  to  murder 
a  prisoner.  He  is  an  arrant  coward  to  the  core.  Captain 
Meadows  is  a  man  of  nerve  and  courage,  and  bears  his 
sufferings  with  much  patience.  His  gentlemanly  deport 
ment,  and  indisposition  to  offend,  makes  his  case  a  sad 
one,  yet,  we  hope,  he  will  speedily  recover,  and  live  to 
perform  gallant  deeds  for  the  cause  of  his  country. 

The  following  are  the  resolutions,  drown  up  in  accord 
ance  with  the  facts  elicited  : 

"  JOHNSON'S  ISLAND,  June  14tlj,  1862. 

"At  a  meeting,  held  in  Block  7,  Mess  1,  on  this  day,  at 
10  A.  M.,  of  the  representatives  of  the  different  messes,  on 
motion,  Captain  G.  W.  Gordon,  of  Tennessee,  was  elected 
chairman,  who  explained  the  object  of  the  meeting,  as 
follows :  '  To  consider,  and  take  some  steps,  concerning 
the  firing  upon  our  unarmed  fellow  prisoners,  by  the 
Federal  sentinels  on  guard  over  us,  and  for  the  better 
protection  of  our  lives,  whilst  prisoners  of  war,  in  the 
hands  of  the  authorities  of  the  United  States.)  Captain 
Frank.  Jay  McLean,  of  Tennessee,  was  appointed  secre 
tary. 

"  Captain  Moss,  of  Kensucky,  moved  that  a  committee 
of  four  be  appointed,  to  see  Major  Pierson,  and  confer 
with  him,  and  ascertain  whether  the  prisoners,  who  kave 
been  fired  upon  by  sentinels,  were  so  fired  on  bjr  his 
orders,  and  especially  the  one  fired  on  last  night,  and  so 
seriously  wounded,  was  shot  by  his  authority. 

"Lieutenant  Watts,  of  Tennessee,  offered  are  solution  as 
a  substitute  for  Captain  Moss,  to  the  effect  that  the  chair 
appoint  a  committee  of  four,  who  are  requested;  to-  report 
9 


122  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

in  writing,  to  this  meeting  at  three  P.  M.,  this  day,  what 
communications,  resolutions  or  remonstrances  they  propose 
to  make  to  the  commander  of  the  post,  concerning  the 
conduct  of  the  sentinels,  and  that  this  meeting  confer 
with,  and  if  necessary,  advise  with  said  committee.  After 
discussion,  the  substitute  was  adopted,  whereupon  the 
chair  appointed  the  following  committee  :  Colonels  Battle, 
of  Tennessee,  Simonton,  of  Mississippi,  Baker,  of  Alabama, 
Smith  of  Arkansas.  On  motion,  the  names  of  Rev.  Mr. 
Witherspoon,  and  the  chairman  of  the  committee,  were 
added. 

"  On  motion,  this  meeting  adjourned  till  three  P.  M., 
this  day. 

"  Three  P.  M.  meeting  met,  pursuant  to  adjournment, 
Captain  Gordon  presiding.  The  committee,  appointed 
by  this  meeting,  through  Colonel  Battel,  of  Tennessee, 
presented  the  following  remonstrance,  to  be  presented  to 
the  commandant  of  this  post,  which,  on  motion,  was 
unanimously  adopted. 

"  Colonels  Baker,  Battel  and  Simonton,  and  Rev.  Mr. 
Witherspoon,  having  made  some  remarks,  the  secretary 
was  ordered  to  copy  the  remonstrance  for  Major  Pierson, 
presenting  to  him  the  original. 

"  On  motion,  the  meeting  adjourned  sine  die. 

"  GEORGE  W.  GORDON,  Chairman. 
"  FRANK  JAK.  McLEAN,  Secretary. 
The  following  is  the  remonstrance,  which  is  accepted 
in  letter  and  spirit  by  every  prisoner  in  the  pen,  and  ex 
presses  their  feelings,  in  relation  to  the  attempted  assassi 
nation  of  Captain  Meadows : 

"  JOHNSON'S  ISLAND,  June  14,  1862. 
"SiR: — Asa  committee,  appointed  for  that  purpose, 
by  the  prisoners  of  war,  contined  on  this  island,  we 
respectfully  address  to  you  this  communication,  in  respect 
to  the  shooting  of  one  of  our  fellow  prisoners.  Last  night, 
by  the  sentinel  upon  post  No.  13,  Captain  J.  D.  Meadows, 
of  the  First  Alabama  Regiment,  a  gentleman  of  most  ami- 
ill  >le  character,  and  correct  habits,  whose  whole  deport 
ment  here  has  been  unexceptionable,  and  faithfully 
observant  of  all  rules,  was  bv  that  sentinel  shot  down,  in 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        123 

the  path-way,  while  returning  from  the  sinks  to  his  quar 
ters.  The  statement  of  Captain  Meadows  himself,  and  of 
other  officers,  who  witnessed  the  occurrence,  shows  that 
there  was  no  shadow  of  justification  for  this  atrocious 
brutality.  In  stepping  from  the  sink,  Captain  Meadows 
had  stopped,  for  a  moment,  in  the  path-way,  to  arrange 
his  clothes,  the  sentinel,  who  wras  very  near  him,  on  the 
wall,  speaking  in  a  voice,  so  quiet,  and,  apparently,  kind, 
as  to  afford  the  unfortunate  gentleman  no  warning  of  his 
cruel  purpose,  said  to  him,  "You  musn't  stop  there." 
Captain  Meadows  immediately  moved,  when,  without 
another  word  or  warning,  after  he  had  made  one  or  two 
steps  towards  his  quarters,  in  obedience  to  the  order,  and 
with  his  back  towards  him,  a  fact  incontestibly  shown,  the 
sentinel  shot  him  down.  It  is  now  the  third  time,  that 
prisoners  have  been  fired  upon  for  very  slight  offences. 
Heretofore  we  have  submitted  without  murmur,  fully 
aware,  how  entirely  we  are  at  your  mercy,  we  have  en 
deavored,  with  scrupulous  care,  to  observe  the  regulations, 
posted  upon  our  doors ;  wre  are  taught,  by  these  cruel 
lessons,  that  even  this  is  no  security,  against  mutilation 
and  murder.  We  hesitate  how  to  act.  Are  we,  sir,  to 
obey  the  rash  instincts  of  despair  ?  or  may  we  trust,  as 
we  once  thought,  to  your  sense  of  justice  and  humanity  ? 
We  claim  the  right,  to  be  treated  as  prisoners  of  war,  and 
not  as  enemies,  and  claim  this  right  with  a  deep  sense  of 
injury  and  unprovoked  wrong.  We  appeal  to  you  for 
justice.  If  Captain  Meadows  was  in  error,  we  have  not 
a  word  to  say ;  but  if,  as  is  believed,  this  sentinel  has  shot 
him  down  in  cold  blood,  we  call  upon  you,  to  see  that  he 
receives  the  punishment  his  crime  deserves,  and  we  be 
secured  against  similar  outrages." 

If  the  sentinel  is  punished,  it  will  be  a  new  chapter  in 
our  prison  history. 

The  grape-vine  line  has  at  last  succumbed  to  the  genu 
ine  article,  and  the  fact  being  a  fixed  one,  that  wTe  are 
exchanged,  Othello's  occupation  on  the  grape  seems  gone. 
Yet  there  are  spasmodic  evidences,  of  the  leavening  influ 
ence  of  grape,  on  the  minds  of  some  of  our  prisoners,  and 
in  spite  of  the  absorbing  news  that  we  are  exchanged, 


124        SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

and  that  on  the  31st  of  July  the  Fort  "Warren  prisoners, 
including  the  glorious  Buckner  and  heroic  Tilghman,  had 
left  for  Fortress  Monroe,  arriving  August  1st,  and  the 
forwarding  of  the  Confederate  prisoners,  confined  at 
Washington,  still  there  is  some  little  pulsation  in  the 
grape-vine  line.  Captain  Scovill  says,  he  thinks  we  will 
go  via  Buffalo,  and  New  York.  Lieutenant  Lytle  says, 
he  is  not  particular  as  to  route,  and  with  his  sprightly, 
nervous  manner,  that  he  would  go  without  his  unmention 
ables,  any  route,  to  get  out  of  old  Pierson's  clutches. 
Lytle  belongs  to  the  Eighteenth  Tennessee  Regiment,  and 
is  one  of  its  most  popular  officers.  Lieutenant  D.  S. 
Martin,  of  the  Third  Tennessee,  is  more  staid,  and  as  he 
joins  our  group,  says,  he  wants  to  get  out,  but  waits  the 
moving  of  the  waters.  Captain  Peacher,  Forty-ninth 
Tennessee,  is  a  matter-of-fact  man,  not  influenced  by 
passing  remarks  or  events,  and  as  yet  the  grape  has  had 
no  effect  upon  his  calmness.  Lieutenant  Berry,  of  the 
Tenth  Tennessee,  is  a  brave  young  officer,  by  birth  a  Vir 
ginian,  yet  with  a  great  influence  with  the  command, 
raised  in  his  adopted  State,  with  that  enthusiasm  so  natu 
ral  in  youth.  He  is  ever  ready  to  hear  the  latest  news, 
and  is  as  anxious  now,  as  he  wras  before  hearing  the  con 
firmation  of  our  exchange. 

Captain  J.  G.  Sharp,  Company  E,  Twenth-sixth  Missis 
sippi  Regiment,  has  an  enviable  reputation  for  courage,  fine 
personal  appearance,  quite  a  lion  among  the  ladies,  'tis  said, 
and  what  you  would  call  a  taking  man,  is  ever  ready  for 
fun  of  any  kind,  and  were  it  not  for  his  efforts,  aided  by 
Lieutenant  Isham  G.  Randolph,  (Red  Shirt,)  and  Lieu 
tenant  Murphy,  from  Mississippi,  with  the  few  other 
spirited  officers,  I  am  afraid  the  grape  would  not  keep 
our  spirits  up.  Sharp  in  his  exuberance,  vows  the  ywj><' 
shall  not  play  out,  the  fun  must  go  on.  Captain  Joe 
llubburd,  of  Tennessee,  seems  pleased  with  the  news. 

Lieutenant  R.  Hyde  Dick  is  the  general  thermometer 
of  the  island ;  good  news,  Dick's  eyes  get  as  large  as 
saucers ;  bad  news,  his  face  assumes  the  weazen,  and  the 
once  full  and  -ruddy  countenance  is  corrugated  by  despair. 
Lieutenant  John  Douglas,  although  quite  young,  but  one 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        125 

of  the  best  drilled  officers  in  the  service,  appears  uncon 
cerned  on  the  subject  of  grape,  trusting  his  material  future 
to  the  rising  star  of  the  Confederacy.  Lieutenant  Hiram 
Lewter,  from  Mississippi,  is  one  of  my  messmates,  and  is 
the  most  jovial  youth  in  the  room,  he  is  quite  seriously 
affected  with  the  exchange  fever,  and  only  accepts  con 
solation  in  whortleberry  pies,  and  sundry  games  one  cent 
poker. 

All  our  prisoners  are  affected  by  the  news.  Some 
express  their  feelings  in  excess  of  sobriety,  others  of  hila 
rity.  Yet  as  we  judge  the  entire  campus,  by  the  charac 
ters  given,  it  is  seen  how  the  news  of  exchange  affects  a 
prisoner. 

Among  the  arrivals,  to-day,  are  three  officers,  who 
distinguished  themselves  at  the  memorable  battle  of 
Shiloh,  fought  April  the  6th,  1862,  Captain  Palmer, 
formerly  of  the  "  Crocket  Rangers,"  one  of  the  gamest 
companies  ever  organized  within  the  bounds  of  the  Con 
federacy.  Palmer  is  a  regular  game  cock,  always  spurred 
for  a  muss,  no  matter  how  questionable  its  character. 
Lieutenant  Shep.  Webb,  First  Lieutentant  of  the 
Beauregards.  Lieutenant  Webb,  with  this  company,  was 
in  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  and  performed  the  duties  assigned 
him,  with  nerve  and  ability.  At  the  time  he  was  captured 
he  was  acting  upon  the  staff  of  General  Nelson.  Lieutenant 
Webb  is  a  citizen  of  Memphis,  Tennessee,  respected  by 
all  who  know  liim,  is  an  efficient  officer,  and  considering 
Ins  youth,  one  of  the  best  in  the  service.  Lieutenant  F. 
D.  Moore,  of  McNairy  county,  Tennessee,  One  Hundred 
and  Fifty-Fourth  Sen.  regiment,  Tennessee  Volunteers, 
is  a  spirited  young  officer,  of  much  wit  and  humor.  He 
was  captured  while  in  company  with  his  sister,  driving 
within  the  enemy's  lines,  while  on  leave  from  his  command. 
Lieutenant  Moore  bears  his  imprisonment  well,  solacing 
himself  with  his  violin,  on  which  instrument  he  performs 
admirably.  "  Foss,"  as  he  is  familiarly  called,  is  popular 
at  home  and  abroad,  and  as  a  brave  soldier,  is  missed  by 
the  service,  that  he,  by  his  good  behaviour  and  soldierly 
bearing,  reflected  credit  upon  whilst  in  the  front  rank  at 
Shiloh  and  other  fields. 


126  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

Breakfast,  six  A.  M.,  tin  cup  of  water  and  coffee,  and  a 
piece,  too  frequently,  of  sour  bread,  hi  a  tin  plate,  and  the 
boiled  meat  of  the  day  before.  About  this  time,  the  ice 
man  comes  in ;  the  milkman,  who  rarely  gets  in  until 
after  breakfast.  This  arrival  creates  some  excitement,  as 
the  supply  rarely  equals  the  demand,  and  all  those  who 
desire  the  fluid,  are  compelled  to  place  their  vessels  in  a 
line,  beginning  at  the  post  at  the  guard-line,  in  front  of 
the  big  gate.  The  vessels  present  an  amusing  spectacle, 
canteens,  preserve  jars,  bottles,  jugs,  cups,  pitchers,  bowls 
and  crocks,  of  all  shapes  and  size ;  eacli  officer  on  the 
alert  to  see  that  some  other  individual's  vessel  is  not 
slipped  nearer  the  milk-cart.  At  8  A.  M.,  the  vegetable 
man  comes  in,  with  a  dray  load  of  onions,  beets  and 
p  otatoes.  He  is  immediately  surrounded  by  the  prison- 
ers,  who  have  the  money  to  buy  with,  and  sells  out 
by  nine.  Then  the  newspapers  come  in,  the  "  Sandusky 
Register,"  a  dirty,  falsifying  sheet,  as  black  with  Abo 
litionism  as  Erebus;  "New  York  Herald,"  and 
"Cincinnati  Enquirer,"  the  latter  having  claims  to  gentility 
of  journalism  ;  the  former  a  time-serving  engine,  mighty 
for  evil,  but  powerless  for  good.  The  rush  for  papers  is 
quite  exciting,  several  hundred  prisoners  at  double  quick, 
yelling  out,  papers,  cursing  the  vendor  for  his  slowness  ; 
the  lighted  up  countenance  on  the  receipt  of  good  news, 
the  blank  ones  when  it  is  bad,  or  the  dull  ones  when  it  is 
indifferent,  is  an  excitement  that  amuses  us  'till  the  mail 
comes  in.  At  twelve  M.,  the  mail-boy  arrives,  then  all  are 
keenly  alive  to  hear  the  news  from  home  and  the  loved 
ones.  Some  are  made  happy,  others  go  back  to  their 
rooms  disappointed.  The  chief  of  each  mess  receives  the 
mail  for  his  mess,  and  as  he  stands  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs, 
calling  out  the  letters,  with  the  anxious  faces  above  peering 
into  his  own,  the  scene  is  an  interesting  one.  The  sutler 
comes  in  twice  a  day,  morning  with  clothing,  etc.,  in  the 
evening  with  edibles.  These  are  the  only  excitements 
furnished  us  by  our  enemies,  (shooting  excepted.)  Our 
own  excitements,  ball  playing,  card  playing,  whittling. 
and  reading,  those  who  have  books — sleeping,  iilling  up 
the  intervals. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        127 


CHAPTER  V. 


EXCURSION  ala  AFRICANA.— ANNIVERSARY.— EMANCIPATION  IN  WEST 
INDIES.-FUNERAL  IN  PRISON.-THE  DEAD  LINK-PETTY  MALICE. 
—REGULATIONS  OF  THB  PRISON.— LONDON  PHILOSOPHY.— INCI 
DENT  OF  BALAKLAVA,  BY  A  PRISONER.— DEATHS  IN  PRISON.— 
POETS  AND  POETRY.— THE  WRECK.— THE  LAKE  STEAMER.— THE 
ROLL- CALLER  OF  OUR  MESS.— ST.  CLAIR  MORGAN,  OF  TENNESSEE. 
—OUR  BUSINESS  AFFAIRS.— GENERAL  JEFF.  THOMPSON.— GRAPE 
VINE  LINK-GOOD  NEWS.-MAN  A  CREATURE  OF  HABIT.— OUR 
MILK  MAN.-JACK  HANDY.— OUR  POST  SURGEON. -CONFEDERATE 
SURGEONS.— PROMENADE  REFLECTIONS.-NEW  ARRIVAL. 

¥E  were  made  aware,  to-day,  by  the  odor  borne  upon 
the  lake  breeze,  from  a  passing  steamer,  that  some 
thing  unusual  was  agitating  the  atmosphere,  on  inspection 
with  an  opera  glass,  exhibited  a  motly  grouping  of  black 
kinks  and  ugly  specimens  of  the  "pale  face,"  something 
like  the  display  of  currants  in  a  plum  cake.  'Tis  true 
that  all  the  extracts  of  Lubin,  Bazin,  and  Phalon's  rarest 
compounds,  were  scenting  the  air,  yet  the  sweet  perfume 
of  Afric's  fairest  flowers  expressed  through  their  ex- 
cretories,  annihilated  all  opposition,  leaving  the  smell  of 
"Nigger"  triumphant,  as  they  passed  the  island,  the 
wool  of  Nigger  kinked  tighter,  the  sleek  face  shone 
sleeker,  and  the  scent  rose  stronger,  and  Nigger  was 
Nigger,  at  least  for  one  day,  in  Sandusky  bay.  They 
had  a  band  that  discoursed  Yankee  Doodle,  they  waved 
highly  scented  handkerchiefs,  and  passing  slowly  out  of 
sight,  leaving  us  to  our  reflections.  The  Federals  have 
Cnffee,  they  are  welcome  to  him  and  his  exhalations, 
there  is.  no  legislation,  or  social  regulation,  that  will 
change  the  African,  or  his  descent.  Nigger  will  be 


128  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

Nigger,  the  world  over;  lie  is  destined  to  fill  the  positions 
of  boot  black  and  scullion,  and  at  <iny  intellectual  em 
ployment,  he  is  at  sea.  lie  cannot  comprehend  intel 
lectual  effort  and  how  the  professional  can  ride  in  his 
carriage,  without  exhibiting  any  physical  attempt  to  earn 
his  wealth,  is  a  mystery,  and  arouses  within  him,  that 
radical  Abolition  emotion,  il  Down  with  the  indolent 
aristocracy,"  not  willing  to  accord  to  them  the  credit  of 
the  years  of  intellectual  toil  employed,  to  attain  the 
position  that  alone  can  lit  them,  for  the  walks  of  their 
calling.  The  line  of  demarkation,  has  been  drawn  by 
nature,  between  white  and  black  society,  and  is  as  im 
passible  as  a  gulf  of  fire.  Northern  Negro  philanthropy 
is  reaping  its  reward,  and  like  the  man  who  won  the 
elephant,  they  have  got  Cuffee,  now  what  will  they  do  with 
him  ?  The  boat  is  out  of  sight,  with  its  freight  of  sables, 
who  are  suffering  from  both  friend  and  foe.  Alas !  poor 
African,  an  object,  of  pity  and  commiseration,  thon 
mayest  well  exclaim,  "Save  me  from  my  (so  called) 
friends. " 

A  funeral  at  sea  is  a  melancholy  spectacle,  the  gloomy 
looks  of  the  crew,  the  dejected  air  of  the  passengers,  and 
the  agonized  expression  of  weeping  relatives  seem  to  fill 
the  imagination  with  all  that  is  distressing  and  heart 
rending,  yet  the  freshness  of  the  ocean  breeze,  new  scenes, 
the  excitements  of  storm,  and  "  sail  ho  !"  with  the  whirl 
of  life  midst  the  hundreds  on  shipboard,  softens,  if  not 
efaces,  death's  shadows  at  sea.  'Tis  not  so  in  prison,  the 
soldier  dies  and  is  confined  in  a  common  pine  coffin,  a 
little  wagon  is  sent  in,  that  is  daily  used  by  the  sutler, 
the  coffin  placed  in  it,  the  driver  cracks  his  whip,  as  if  his 
animal  had  stalled  with  a  load  of  wood,  and  the  vehicle 
rattles  over  the  ruts  and  clods  of  the  campus.  To-day 
we  buried  poor  Hodges.  He  was  from  Memphis,  Tennesee, 
and  died  from  a  wound  received  from  a  copper  ball  from 
a  Mexican  escopet,  while  acting  gallantly  in  Mexico, 
which  the  irritation  of  his  imprisonment,  added  to  a  fall, 
caused  to  break  out  afresh,  resulting  in  death.  The 
death  of  Captain  Hodges  has  been  alluded  to  in  another 
"scrap,"  yet  mention  is  made  in  this  connection,  as  addi- 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON7  TABLE.  129 

tional  evidence  of  the  inhumanity  of  our  custodians,  his 
friends  requested  to  attend  his  funeral,  but  were  denied, 
the  reply,  as  mentioned  previous,  being,  that  none, 
excepting  those  belonging  to  his  regiment,  could  attend 
his  funeral.  We  were  not  of  the  number,  and  the  tortur 
ing  Pierson  let  his  cart  man  drive  out  the  body,  without 
the  attendance  of  his  friends,  an  unheard-of  barbarity,  for 
which  there  is  no  excuse.  It  was  a  sad  sight  to  see  all 
that  remained  of  our  friend  driven  out,  like  the  carcass 
of  some  dumb  brute,  and  buried  without  the  ministration 
of  friends,  all  of  this  under  the  eye  of  that  eagle  whose 
wings  are  supposed  to  enfold  the  "  best  government  the 
world  ever  saw,"  with  the  most  damnable  representatives. 
Pierson's  trestle  board  is  discolored  by  dark  and  treacher 
ous  spots,  and  how  he  can  serenely  stand  beneath  the  arch, 
without  viewing  it  as  the  sword  of  Damocles,  is  beyond 
the  comprehension  of  &  pillar  of  the  arch,  but  his  temple 
will  be  one  of  Babel,  and  not  of  Solomon,  as  his  moral 
tools  are  rusty,  and  as  "he  soweth,  so  shall  he  also  reap." 
Thirty  feet  from  the  wall  around  the  entire  prison,  is 
an  imaginary  line,  called  the  dead-line,  yet  on  one  side  the 
sinks  are  not  ten  feet  from  the  wall,  and  it  was  while 
going  to  his  quarters  from  one  of  them,  that  Captain 
Meadows  was  shot  down,  an  account  of  which  is  given  in 
another  "scrap."  To  step  across  this  line  is  death,  a  heavy 
penalty  for  a  slight  offence.  Genghis  Khan,  or  Timour 
could  not  have  been  more  severe ;  only  the  sack  or  bow 
string  is  more  revolting  to  the  feelings,  and  is  not  as 
prompt  as  a  quietus,  as  the  old  "Springfield,"  with  its 
charge  doubled,  and  the  finger  of  its  merciless  (because 
cowardly)  owner  upon  a  trigger,  itching  to  respond  to  the 
call  of  the  sentinel'  sheart,  that  secure  in  its  home-guard 
battalion,  burns,  to  gloat  over  the  murder  of  a  rebel.  If 
the  war  continues,  and  we  are  held  in  durance,  we  may 
have  yet  to  choose  between  the  "gnout,"  "bastinado,"* 
or  "ropes  end,"  for  slight  direlections,  and  between  the 
garote,  gallows,  or  musket,  for  graver  ones. 

*  They  are  now  whipping  negroes  in  the  free  State  of  Illinois,  (see  scrap), 
and  why  not  apply  the  lash  to  white  men,  which  they  will  surely  do,  if  fanati 
cism  triumphs  in  the  present  struggle. 


130  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

Captain  J.  P.  Colwell,  Captains  Gary  and  F.  A. 
Rogers,*  with  Lieutenant  Josiah  ifoplin  ;f  these  four 
officers  were  notified  this  morning,  that  they  would  not 
be  exchanged.  They  were  gentlemen,  and  influential  citi 
zens  at  home  before  the  war,  and  have  served  their  flag 
faithfully  since.  They  had  made  ready,  anticipating  the 
call  of  their  names,  when  an  official  announced  they 
would  be  detained.  It  is  difficult  to  imagine  the  feeling 
of  despondency  felt  by  them,  as  eleven  hundred  of  their 
fellow  prisoners  filed  out  ot  prison,  into  the  free  air  beyond 
the  walls.  Each  heart  beat  in  sympathy  with  them,  but 
we  could  do  nothing  but  surmise  as  to  the  cause  of  their 
detention,  they  had  been  the  most  quiet  and  orderly  sol 
diers  in  prison,  men  of  education  and  refinement,  and 
true  Confederates.  Old  Pierson  is  up  to  some  Devilment, 
and  we  would  not  be  surprised,  if  our  Missouri  friends 
don't  suffer  many  hardships  in  addition  to  those  already 
endured.  Every  device  is  used  to  annoy  gentlemen,  by 
the  curs  in  charge  of  us,  the  ingenuity  of  the  Devil  is  in 
voked  to  create  disappointments  for  us,  and  to  see  if  we 
cannot  be  killed  by  worry,  and  the  mental  tortures,  to 
which  we  are  daily  subjected.  4 '  Curses,  like  chickens, 
come  home  to  roost,"  and  when  the  finale  comes,  Pierson 
will  be  as  thoroughly  sifted,  as  the  article  connected  with 
him  in  our  note. 

In  connection,  we  append  the  following  from  Captain 
F.  A.  Eogers,{  of  Coalbank,  Cooper  county,  Missouri, 
whose  veracity  and  integrity,  none  will  question. 

1  'After  our  exchange,  December  15,  1862,  two  and  a 
half  months  after  your  release,  Joplin  and  myself  went  to 
Richmond,  Virginia,  and  there  for  the  first  time  learned 
from  Mr.  Seddon,  Secretary  of  War,  that  I  was  a  bush 
whacker,  bridge-burner,  and  out-law,  and  that  Joplin  was 
accused  of  holding  a  commission  under  the  United  States 
government,  and  at  the  same  time  serving  in  the  Con 
federate  States  Army.  The  truth  is,  it  was  all  a  lie,  and 

*  Captain  F.  A.  Rogers,  Coalbank,  Cooper  county.  Missouri. 
f  Joplin  resides  in  Myrtle  Springs,  Bowie  county,  Texas. 
J  The  paragraph  in  relation  to  Captain  Rogers,  received  since  the  war,  is 
inserted  for  uniformity  rather  than  noted. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  131 

only  a  pretext  to  hold  us,  to  please  some  good  Union  man 
or  personal  enemy.  Old  sand  sifter,  had  still  a  hankering 
after  the  almighty  dollar,  after  you  left,  and  at  the  time  I 
left  the  island,  he  confiscated  ten  dollars,  all  the  money  I 
had,  and  positively  refused  to  give  it  up;  also  some 
clothing,  sent  me  by  my  friends  in  Baltimore.  All  the 
money  passed  through  Pierson's  hands,  and  he  invariably 
retained  a  portion  at  the  time.  As  to  Pierson,  I  think  a 
more  contemptible  scoundrel  never  breathed  than  that 
wretch.  Captain  Clarkson  died  in  Texas,  in  the  Fall  of 
1863.  He  was  never  well  after  his  exchange,  he  was  a 
noble  man,  and  killed  by  long  confinement  on  Johnsoris 
Island." 

Regulations  of  the  United   States  Military  Prison,   at 
Johmoris  Island. 

HEAD-QUARTERS  HOFFMAN'S  BATTALION,  DEPARTMENT} 
OF  PRISONERS  OF  WAR,  NEAR  SANDUSKY,  OHIO, 

March  1,  1862.  \ 

"  Order  No.  1. — It  is  designed  to  treat  prisoners  of  war 
with  al]  the  kindness  compatible  with  their  condition, 
and  to  other  ends,  as  few  orders  as  possible  will  be  issued 
respecting  them,  and  their  own  comfort  will  be  chiefly 
secured,  by  prompt  and  implicit  obedience." 

"  Order  No.  2. — The  quarters  have  been  erected  at 
great  expense,  by  the  government,  for  the  comfort  of 
prisoners  of  war,  the  utmost  caution  should  be  used 
against  fire,  as  in  case  of  their  destruction,  the  prisoners 
will  be  subjected  to  much  exposure  and  suffering,  for 
want  of  comfortable  quarters,  as  others  will  not  be  erected, 
and  rude  shelter  only  provided." 

"  Order  No.  3. — All  prisoners  are  required  to  parade  in 
their  rooms,  and  answer  to  their  names,  half  an  hour 
after  reveille,  and  at  retreat." 

"Order  No.  4. — Meals  will  be  taken  at  breakfast 
drum,  dinner  drum,  and  half  an  hour  before  retreat. " 

"  Order  No.  5. — Quarters  must  be  thoroughly  policed 
by  10  o'clock,  in  the  morning." 

"  Order  No.  6. — All  prisoners  will  be  required  to  remain 


132  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

in  their  own  quarters  after  retreat,  except  when  they 
have  occasion  to  visit  the  sinks,  lights  will  be  extin 
guished  at  "taps,"  and  no  fires  will  be  allowed  after  that 
time."  . 

"Order  No.  7. — Quarrels  and  disorders  of  every  kind 
strictly  prohibited." 

"  Order  No.  8. — Prisoners  occupying  officer's  quarters 
in  blocks  1,  2,  3  and  4,  will  not  be  permitted  to  visit  the 
soldiers'  quarters  in  blocks  5,  6,  7  and  8,  nor  go  upon 
the  grounds  in  their  vicinity,  nor  beyond  the  line  of 
stakes  between  the  officers'  and  soldiers'  Quarters;  nor 
will  the  soldiers  be  allowed  to  go  upon  the  ground  in  the 
vincinity  of  the  officers'  quarters,  or  beyond  the  line  of 
stakes  between  the  officers'  and  soldiers'  quarters." 

"  Order  No.  9. — No  prisoner  will  be  allowed  to  loiter 
between  the  buildings,  and  the  north  and  west  fences, 
and  they  will  be  permitted  north  of  the  buildings,  only 
when  passing  to  and  from  the  sinks,  nor  will  they  ap 
proach  the  fences  anywhere  else  nearer  than  thirty  feet, 
as  the  line  is  marked  out  by  the  stakes." 

"  Order  No.  10.— ^Guards  and  sentinels  will  be  required 
to  fire  upon  all  who  violate  the  above  orders.  Prisoners 
will,  therefore,  bear  them  carefully  in  mind,  and  be 
governed  by  them,  to  forget  under  such  circumstances 
is  inexcusable,  and  may  prove  fatal." 
By  order  of 

WILLIAM  S.  PIERSON, 
B.  W.  WELLS,  LIEUT.  AND  POST  ADJT. 

(FOR  THE  AMUSEMENT  OF  MY  FRIEND,  COLONEL  R.  T.  JOHN 
SON,*  ONE  OF  TENNESSEE'S  MOST  DISTINGUISHED  SOL 
DIERS,  AND  AS  GENIAL  AS  HE  IS  GALLANT.) 

'.'  London  befogged,  drizzly  London,"  have  exclaimed 
all  writers,  since  time  immemorial.  I  had  left  the  city  of 
Brussels,  on  the  4  p.  M.  train,  passed  through  Ghent, 
made  famous  by  Froissart,  and  by  the  celebrated  treaty  at 
that  place  ;  thence  to  Calais,  where  I  crossed  the  channel 

*  Colonel  R.  T.  Johnson,  (now  18G8,)  with  Jno.  K.  Smith  &  Son,  47  Broad 
street,  New  York  city. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        133 

to  Dover,  at  this  point  twenty  miles  wide,  always  with  a 
chopped  sea,  caused  by  the  water  from  the  Atlantic  ocean 
and  North  sea  commingling,  a  commotion  that  will  make 
one  sick,  even  has  he  passed  the  ordeal  of  an  Atlantic 
voyage.     Nauseated  and  wet  Dover  is  reached,  eighty 
miles,  in  two  hours  time  locates  you  in  London,  and  if 
you  prefer  it,  at  Morley's  hotel,  on  Trafalgar   Square, 
where  the  writer  stopped.     Morley's  reminds  one  of  a 
first  class  private  residence,  on  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York, 
and  is  far  inferior  to  any  of  our  leading  hotels.     After 
staying  at  this  hotel  a  lew  days,  you  are  satisfied,  that 
while  an  Englishman's  house  is  more  home-like  'than  an 
American's,  they  "  can't  keep  a  hotel."     To  form  an  idea 
of  a  stream  of  humanity,  you  must  stand  on  London 
bridge,  and  see  the  moving  mass,  that  rushes  by  like  some 
mighty  river.     I  gazed  upon  the  current,  my  mind  revert 
ing  to  the  nursery  riddle,   "As  I  walked  over  London 
bridge,  etc."     And  while  many,  in  wandering  through 
Pail-Mall,  and  Oxford  street,  would  dwell  upon  serious 
reflections,  as  o'er  these  same  stones  wralked  the  bloody 
Richard,  here  strode  the  gallants  of  the  rival  houses  of  York 
and  Lancaster,  good  Henry  IV.,  or  the  lewed  Henry  VIII. 
I  felt  no  such  emotion,  my  thoughts  were  of  Dickens  and 
Oxford  street,  connected  with  the  strand  and  Lud^ate  lull, 
wealth  and  poverty,   State  and  dependence.     Warren's 
"  Ten  thousand  a  year,"  with  its  Oxford  street  hero  Tittle 
bat  Titmouse,  M.  P.,  Dick  Turpin  and  his  many  haunts, 
and  his  mare  "  Bess, "  flash  over  the  mind,  showing  the 
effects  of  early  reading  upon  the  youthful  imagination. 
From  the  bridge  you  pass  to  the  tower,  visit  the  cell  of 
Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  whose  confinement   lasted   twelve 
years,  depriving  England   of  the  services  of  one  of  her 
wisest  citizens.     There  are  many  stories  related  of  Sir 
Walter,  only  one  of  which  we  will  relate  in  this  connec 
tion.     Being  asked  the  weight  of  smoke,  that  had  escaped 
from  his  cigar,  he  promptly  called  for  a  pair  of  scales,  and 
weighing  the  ashes  that  had  fallen  from  the  tobacco  and 
the   part   unsmoked,  exclaimed,    "  the   difference  is  the 
weight  of  the  smoke."     There  are  many  cuttings  on  the 
walls  of  the  cell,  in  Greek,  Latin,  French,  and  English, 


134  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

in  prose  and  verse,  illustrating  incidents  in  the  lives  of 
the  writers,  who  for  centuries  have  been  incarcerated 
within  its  gloomy  walls.  You  slip  a  six-pence  into  the 
hand  of  a  burly  English  usher,  who  promises  to  show  you 
more  than  any  one  ever  saw  in  the  tower,  directs  you  to 
the  spot  where  the  Princes  were  found,  murdered  by  the 
bloody  Richard ;  the  "  Traitor's  gate,"  through  which 
prisoners  were  brought  from  the  Thames  to  the  tower  ; 
you  see  the  block  the  Queens  were  executed  on,  and 
headsman's  axe,  the  instruments  of  torture,  etc.,  and  wind 
up,  by  visiting  the  crown  jewels,  the  most  prominent  of 
which  id  the  "  Kohinoor,"  or  "  Mountain  of  light,"  and  a 
world's  wealth  of  various  other  gems,  all  encased  in  glass, 
surrounded  by  an  iron  rail.  The  female  in  charge,  ex 
plains  to  you,  and  moves  you  'round  this  vast  treasure  in 
quick  time. 

After  sight-seeing  until  fatigued,  you  find  yourself 
outside  the  gate,  and  all  your  dreams  of  the  past  of  the 
tower's  history,  interrupted  by  the  hoarse  cry  of  "  here's 
your  fresh  fish,"  as  the  street,  contiguous  to  the  tower, 
has  many  fish  houses  on  it.  Even  the  tower,  and  its 
associations,  are  lost  in  the  din  of  trade.  St.  Paul's 
cathedral,  and  other  sights  are  visited.  At  last  you  con 
centrate  on  Westminster  abbey,  and  here  we  meet  another 
incident,  that  seems  but  to  have  been  one  of  many  that 
have  encountered  us  all  through  life.  On  approaching  to 
within  some  few  hundred  feet  of  the  venerable  pile,  we 
received  the  profound  salutation  of  an  individual,  dressed 
in  a  seedy  suit  of  black,  that  had  that  powerful  faculty  of 
reflection,  so  often  seen  in  the  habiliments  of  the  profes 
sional  man,  whose  briefs  and  prescriptions  are  limited. 
A  cap  of  the  same  transparent  texture,  sat  jauntily  upon 
his  head,  his  coat  was  buttoned  close  to  the  chin,  not  to 
hide  the  absence  of  some  garment,  as  vulgar  curiosity 
would  suggest,  but  it  seemed  the  style  of  the  man. 

•'  You  seem,  sir,  as  if  you  would  wish  to  examine  the 
noble  building,  that  stands  so  eloquently  before  us,  speak 
ing  with,  its  ivy,  and  moss-covered  turrets,  in  melancholy, 
yet  deeply  interesting  tones,  as  it  refers  to  the  past  memo 
ries,  to  the  hallowed  associations,  of  church  history,  that 


SCRAPS  FKOM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  135 

have  cemented  the  past  and  present,  in  this  hoary  creation 
<  >f  past  archit  ectural  solidity  and  taste,  grace,  and  gran 
deur." 

"  You  seem  to  be  enthusiastic  on  the  abbey,  sir." 

"  Yes,  sir,  it  is  owing  to  my  appreciation  of  the  glories 
of  Westminster  abbey,  that  the  corporation  of  London 
have  made  me  the  outside  usher,  to  show  strangers  the 
beauty  of  the  edifice,  and  as  I  daily  examine  its  interesting 
details,  I  am  more  deeply  impressed  with  the  sublimity  of 
the  clouds  of  historical  incidents,  connected  with  the  mortal 
ity,  whose  bones  lie  mouldering  in  sepulchres,  that  have  lev 
eled  all  distinctions,  that  finds  the  crown  and  coronet  in 
close  companionship.  In  that  corner  of  the  buil  ding  reposes 
the  remains  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  who  with  all  her  foibles, 
did  much  for  "  Merrie  England,"  and  although  'tis  said 
she  persecuted  the  beautiful  Mary,  it  is  possible  that  the 
sympathy  of  historians,  for  the  peccadilloes  of  the  Scottish 
Queen,  enlisted  them  in  her  defence,  and  have  done 
injustice  to  Queen  '  Bess.' 

"  In  that  chapel  lies  Henry  VIII.,  the  English  '  Blue 
beard.'  Yet  he  had  Ins  virtues.  The  place  is  full  of 
memories,  hallowed  more  by  their  historic  associations, 
than  by  the  impress  they  make  on  the  fancy  or  imagina 
tion  of  the  stranger.  No\v,  sir,  we  are  at  the  door  of  the 
abbey,  and  within  you  will  find  those  who  will  show  you 
the  beauties  of  this  ancient  book  of  tomb  histories,  a  de 
scription  of  which  I  have  attempted  from  the  outside" 

I  hesitated  a  moment,  and  handed  him  a  penny,  at 
which  he  seemed  delighted,  and  making  a  bow,  that  would 
have  honored  a  prime  minister,  disappeared,  leaving  me 
impressed  with  the  idea,  that  I  had  been  taken  in  by  a 
chevalier  d'industrie,  wrhose  daily  bread  depended  on  tricks 
upon  unsuspecting  travelers.  He .  took  a  bee-line  for  a 
gin  shop,  and  I  sought  the  damp  retreats  of  Westminster 
abbey.  I  paused  at  the  "poet's  corner,"  and  as  that 
quaint  inscription,  "  O,  rare  Ben.  Johnson,"  attracted  my 
attention,  I  could  not  but  think,  that  in  spite  of  fulsome 
epitaphs,  all  prose  and  poetry  find  a  common  grave.  One 
chiseled  effort  of  the  sculptor,  is  a  representation  of  the 
capture  of  Major  Andre,  by  Paulding,  Williams,  and  Van 


136  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRf&ON  TABLE. 

Wirt,  as  we  saw  them  in  our  school-books,  in  the  act  of 
examining  boots,  and  etc.,  with  the  inscription  beneath : 
"Beloved  by  his  friends,  and  respected  by  his  enemies." 
There  is  much  to  be  seen  in  the  old  abbey,  and  one  is 
puzzled  to  comprehend  its  vastness  of  past  teachings, 
written  in  marble  and  stone,  with  decay  palpably  marked 
in  their  monumental  records,  as  the  end  of  all  humanity, 
in  their  epitaphical  vanities. 

These  slabs  teach  us  that  the  man  is  dead.  Philoso 
phy,  that  he  is  not  lost,  but  changed.  How  do  we  know 
but  that  in  the  transmogrification  of  particlecl  humanity, 
that  the  decomposed  matter  of  the  Patriarchs  may  not 
now  be  the  wealth  of  our  gardens,  and  that  the  beet  or 
cabbage  may  not  once  have  entered  into  the  composition 
of  our  ancestors.  We  leave  the  abbey  and  its  curious 
collections,  wending  our  way  to  our  hotel,  passing 
through  the  living  stream,  elbowing  fish-women  and  shop 
keepers,  students  and  professors,  all  intent  upon  their  own 
advancement,  all  with  hopes  of  profit  or  preferment,  all 
looking  to  the  future;  in  many  hearts  that  paints  the 
"cottage  by  the  brookside,"  the  "old  oaken  bucket," 
and  a  quiet  sleep  'neath  the  "drooping  willow,"  when 
life's  fitful  fever  is  o'er.  There  are  but  few,  however, 
who  realize  these  fancies,  perfect  happiness  is  not  decreed 
to  man,  he  is  to  "earn  his  bread  by  the  sweat  of  his 
brow;"  and  when  he  does  attain  a  day  of  peace,  he  "is 
cut  down  like  a  flower."  I  have  rarely  known  a  rnan  to 
reach  great  pecuniary  success  in  life,  but  that  he  was  to 
suffer  by  family  affliction.  If  a  successful  political 
gambler,  he  is  apt  to  be  poverty  stricken.  One  is  elected 
President,  and  loses  an  only  son ;  another  is  similarly 
elevated,  a  daughter  perisheth.  Men  become  suddenly 
rich,  when  some  counteracting  visitation,  mars  their  joy. 

Philip  of  Macedon  understood  this  theory,  who,  on 
hearing  of  the  success  of  Alexander,  at  the  Olympic 
games,  and  his  mounting  Bucephalus,  exclaimed:  "Oh, 
that  the  Uods  would  make  my  afflictions  light,"  for  he 
knew  that  his  joy  must  have  some  reacting  sorrow. 
Families  have  their  rise  and  fall,  they  have  their  periods  of 
affluence,  as  well  as  decay.  It  is  said,  "the  sons  of  the 


SCRAPS  FEOM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  137 

rich  die  poor,  those  of  the  poor  die  rich. "  In  view  of  all 
these  mutations  of  sense  and  time,  with  these  evidences 
that  man  is  but  a  dreamer,  and  nine  in  ten  are  mono 
maniacs,  for  when  one  sees  beyond  the  comprehension  of 
the  mass  he  is  insane  to  them.  Why  do  we  live  so  much 
in  the  past,  and  court  the  tickle  future,  with  its  great 
expectations?  while  we  lose  sight  of  the  only  reality  in 
life,  the  practical  present.  Living  in  the  past,  and  a 
hopeful  future,  are  absurdities,  and  it  is  only  in  the 
present  that  we  can  hope  to  accomplish  the  true  object  of 
our  being.  Let  us  leave  the  past  with  its  buried 
memories,  trusting  the  future  to  that  Great  Being,  who 
alone  comprehends  the  mystery  that  envelopes  the  system 
of  which  man  is  the  representative  head. 

*Lieutenant  Seymour,  Tenth  Tennessee  Volunteers, 
relates :  "  I  w^as  a  commissioned  officer  in  the  British 
army,  and  formed  a  part  of  the  advance,  that  landed  at 
Eupatora,  fifty  miles  from  Balaklava,  on  September  14, 
1854.  The  troops  were  debarked  in  five  days,  and  on  the 
19th  the  line  of  march  was  taken  for  Balaklava.  The 
enemy  were  formed  of  an  outpost  of  cavalry,  supported  by 
a  troop  of  Cossacks,  and  some  heavy  cavalry  in  their  rear, 
behind  a  range  of  hills.  The  Earl  of  Lucan,  the  General 
commanding  the  entire  brigade  of  cavalry,  took  some  of 
the  Eighth  and  Eleventh  Hussars,  and  Thirteenth  Light 
Dragoons,  and  moved  towards  the  hill-top,  where  they 
met  heavy  columns  of  the  enemy's  cavalry,  with  their  skir 
mishers  thrown  out,  awaiting  their  attack  three-quarters  of  a 
mile  in  front.  The  British  advanced  eight  hundred  yards  at 
a  trot,  halted  and  waited  until  their  infantry  came  up,  who 
soon  approached  at  double-quick,  and  formed,  two  hun 
dred  yards  in  rear  of  the  cavalry,  who  advanced,  throw 
ing  out  skirmishers.  The  Russians  had  doubled  their 
numbers,  and  commenced  firing.  Our  cavalry  out  of 
range,  did  not  reply.  The  enemy  then  advanced  ten 
guns,  and  opened  on  us  at  nine  hundred  yards.  We  lost 
five  or  six  men,  before  our  horse  artillery  replied.  Lord 
Raglan  did  not  wish  to  use  his  artillery  at  that  moment, 

*  Tennyson  has  given  th6  poetry,  Seymour  the  prose  of  this  action. 

10 


138  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

for  fear  of  bringing  on  a  general  engagement,  but  it  was 
unavoidable,  and  the  reply  was  maMe,  upon  which  the 
enemy  retired  behind  the  hills,  extending  their  wings, 
evidently  attempting  to  out-flank  us  ;  but  in  this  manceu- 
voring  they  used  no  guns,  and  our  artillery  opening  on 
them,  after  a  few  discharges,  that  went  through  and 
through  them,  caused  them  to  fall  back  to  the  next  ridge, 
and  finally  leave  altogether.  The  next  day  was  the 
"Alma,"  they  were  intrenched  fifty-five  thousand  strong, 
with  one  hundred  and  ten  guns.  The  cavalry  did  not  partici 
pate  in  this  action,  it  being  left  to  the  infantry  to  haul  down 
the  old  "  Red  Cross,"  or  sustain  it,  which  latter  they  did, 
seeing  it  flaunt  defiantly  the  next  day  three  miles  from 
Sevastopol,  on  its  victiorious  way  to  Balaklava.  We 
camped  in  the  valley  of  Kadokoi,  about  two  miles  from 
Balaklava.  We  opened  the  first  guns  on  Sevastopol  on 
the  17th  of  October  ;  on  the  25th,  it  was  rumored  the 
Russians  were  advancing  in  force  by  the  Tada  road,  upon 
Balaklava.  The  Turks  had  charge  of  the  redoubts,  and 
I  don't  think  they  fired  a  shot  at  the  advancing  Russians, 
who  took  the  fort,  and  turned  the  guns  upon  our  rascally 
allies.  Their  cavalry,  a  dashing  body  of  five  thousand 
horse,  flushed  with  their  success,  came  whooping  and 
wheeling  o'er  the  plain,  and  right  at  the  Ninty-third 
Highlanders,  under  Sir  Collin  Campbell,  the  then  only 
regiment  to  dispute  their  advance,  to  the  capture  of  all 
our  military  stores,  perhaps  shipping,  the  certain  occupa 
tion  of  Balaklava,  and  shutting  us  up  in  the  plain,  with  a 
mighty  enemy  in  front,  and  on  both  sides,  and  the  Black 
sea  in  our  rear;  had  they  succeeded,  the  British  army 
were  prisoners.  On  came  their  lances  against  the  Nine 
ty-third,  and  when  within  pistol  range,  in  went  the  front 
rank  fire  of  the  Highlanders ;  they  reeled,  and  many  a 
saddle  was  emptied  before  they  knew  they  were  hit;  in 
went  the  rear  rank  volley,  and  before  its  smoke  was  lifted 
off  the  regiment,  our  cavalry  was  at  them  by  squadrons 
of  divisions,  and  after  successive  charges,  they  were  forced 
back.  The  Second  Dragoon  Guards  and  the  Scotch 
Greys,  especially  distinguished  themselves,  bravest  wrhere 
all  were  brave.  During  the  charges, Captain  Lewis  Nolen,of 


SCKAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  139 

the  Fifteenth  Hussars,  brought  an  order  from  Lord  Raglan, 
I  don't  remember  its  precise  tenor,  but  we  were  ordered 
to  retake  the  batteries  lost  by  the  Turks ;  they  were 
retaken.  First  Regulars,  Scotch  Greys,  Enniskilleii 
Dragoons,  with  the  Twelfth  and  Seventeenth  Lancers, 
formed  the  Light  Brigade,  the  Earl  of  Cardigan  at  their 
head.  The  Russians  were  retreating,  but  on  discovering 
our  advance,  formed  line,  and  unlimbered  their  guns. 
On  dashed  our  light  division,  until  they  met  the  Russian 
cavalry  formed  in  four  lines,  but  through  them  we  went, 
breaking  line  after  line,  and  as  their  last  line  was  broken, 
our  trumpets  at  this  instant  sounded  the  recall,  giving 
them  time  to  reform  their  line,  and  at  them  we  went 
again,  and  now  a  murderous  spectacle  was  witnessed ; 
the  Russians  seeing  their  splendid  cavalry  in  a  fair  way 
to  be  destroyed,  let  fly  their  artillery  into  the  mingled 
mass  of  friends  and  enemies.  French  troops  were  now 
appearing  on  the  field,  and  what  was  left  of  our  fellows 
responded  to  the  recall,  and  rejoined  our  comrades  ;  we 
rode  in  seven  hundred  and  four  strong,  and  came  out  one 
hundred  and  ninety-eight,  but  the  guns  were  retaken. 
Captain  Nolen  was  killed  early  in  the  fight. 

As  an  indication,  of  the  courage  displayed  on  this 
occasion,  I  will  relate  an  instance  of  individual  heroism, 
in  the  person  of  a  soldier  of  the  Twelfth  Lancers.  He 
was  surrounded  by  twenty  Russians  ;  they  were  in  each 
other's  way,  and  couldn't  catch  him  ;  somehow  they  were 
thinned  around  him  until  five  or  six  were  left ;  he  killed 
them  all ;  the  last  one  was  so  near,  he  could  not  cut  him, 
so  leaning  back  in  his  saddle,  with  his  bridle-hand,  hit 
the  Russian  in  the  face,  threw  him  backward  in  his  saddle, 
then  gave  him  his  point.  He  joined  his  regiment  with 
seventeen  wounds." 

The  above  charge,  as  related  by  Lieutenant  Seymour, 
is  historical.  The  lieutenant  is  still  an  honorary  member 
of  the  regiment,  and  bears  upon  his  person,  many  scars, 
as  proof  of  his  participation  in  that  terrible  engagement. 
With  becoming  modesty,  like  all  brave  men,  he  has  not 
alluded  to  himself,  ebut  the  medals  he  wears  are  so  many 
evidences  of  the  appreciation  of  his  services  and  gallantry 


140         SCEAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

in  the  Crimea,  by  the  French  and  British  governments. 
Lieutenant  Seymour  is  a  soldier,  'scholar  and  gentle 
man.  The  charge  at  Balaklava  has  only  been  equalled 
or  excelled  by  that  of  the  Punjaub,  where  they  went  in 
twelve  hundred  strong  and  came  out  seventeen. 

I  deem  it  due  the  connections  of  the  poor  fellows  who 
have  "  shuffled  off  this  mortal  coil,"  leaving  this  busy  and 
wicked  world,  and  who  have  gone  down  to  the  cold  and 
silent  grave,  amid  the  confusion,  thoughtlessness,  and 
devil-mi-care  of  'prisoners,  whose  clammy  brows  have  not 
been  smoothed  by  the  hand  of  affection,  and  whose  visi 
tation  was  not  soothed  by  the  presence  of  mother,  wife,  or 
sister,  to  relate  the  time  and  manner  of  their  death,  who 
died  martyrs  to  liberty,  the  very  Heavens  must  be 
amazed  at  "man's  inhumanity  to  man."  The  poor 
prisoner,  pining  and  agonizing  on  his  couch,  hoping  a 
respite  from  the  persecutions  of  his  enemies,  in  one  breath 
of  the  pure  air  of  Heaven,  without  the  cursed  walls  of  his 
prison,  is  told  no  paroles  are  given  to  the  sick,  sinks  back 
in  anguish  on  his  bed,  that  has  now  nearly  worn  him  to 
the  bone,  and  with  his  feelings  lacerated,  in  his  heart 
consigns  to  endless  torment  the  oppressors,  who  in  the 
name  of  liberty,  are  committing  crimes  that  would  put 
the  savage  to  the  blush.  These  men  have  died  for  their 
cause  in  prison,  far  from  home  and  family,  they  have  sank 
to  rest  with  the  restless  waves  of  the  fretful  lake,  lashing 
the  shore  of  their  resting  place,  and  the  sighing  breeze, 
dirging  sadly  to  their  memories,  as  it  disturbs  the  leaves 
of  the  scant  forest,  that  barely  shades  the  barren-looking 
grave  of  a  gallant  soldier,  and  a  martyr  to  liberty. 

Lieutenant  R.  M.  Ray,  Eighteenth  Regiment,  Tennessee 
Volunteers,  died  of  typhoid  fever,  was  an  officer  in  good 
standing. 

Private  Wood  was  a  member  of  Colonel  Battel's 
Twentieth  Tennessee  Regiment,  and  brought  his  death 
by  exposure,  while  attending  to  his  sick  comrades,  at  Mill's 
Spring. 

Lieutenant  Samuel  A.  Pearson,  Company  B,  Thirtieth 
Tennessee  Regiment  Volunteers,  was  admitted  into  the 
hospital,  June  23 cl ;  died  July  6th,  1862,  of  typhoid  fever. 


SCKAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        141 

Lieutenant  R.  A.  Crow,  Company  B,  Eleventh  Arkansas 
Regiment,  died  in  hospital,  July  22d,  1862,  of  typhoid 
fever. 

Captain  J.  R.  Hodges,  Fifty-first  Regiment,  Tennessee 
Volunteers,  was  admitted  into  the  hospitalJuly  6th,  1862, 
died  July  24th,  from  inflammation  of  a  wound  in  the  leg, 
received  in  the  Mexican  War. 

Captain  L.  M.  McWhorter,  of  Company  I,  Third 
Mississippi,  died  July  29th,  in  hospital,  of  typhoid  fever, 
after  an  illness  of  eighty-six  days ;  his  case  was  an 
extraordinary  one,  symptoms  not  well  developed,  suffered 
much. 

The  death  of  General  Murray  has  been  alluded  to  in 
another  "  scrap." 

The  above  has  been  kindly  furnished  by  Dr.  H.  L. 
Ray,  assistant  surgeon  of  our  hospital. 

THE   BEST  PIECE  OF  BAD   POETRY   EXTANT,  BY   LIEUTENANT 
BILL  RUPERT. 

(These  lines  were  composed  by  a  lieutenant  of  infantry, 
after  much  laborious  investigation  of  the  causes  of  his 
incarceration.  The  style  is  peculiar,  pungent,  and  origi 
nal.  I  give  them  unextolled,  with  all  their  beauties  of 
metre  and  orthography.) 

"I  John  Chandas  an  English  Knight 
Seneneshal  of  all  Poictou 
Against  the  French  King  oft  did  fight 
On  foot  and  horseback  ;  many  slew 
Bertrand  du  Guesclin  prisoner  too 
By  me  was  taken  in  a  vale. 
At  iSussac  did  the  foe  prevail 
My  body  then  at  Mortimer 
In  a  new  tomb  my  friends  inter 
In  the  vear  of  grace  divine 
Thirteen  hundred  sixty-nine." 

(SOMETHING  LIKE  THE  LINES  OF  SIR  JOHN  CHANDAS.) 
i 

"  composed  by  a  Renegade 
of  the  age  of  Twenty  &  Three 
who  in  the  South  drew  his  glittering  Blade 
to  fight  for  cotton  and  Liberty 


142  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 


"  here  is  the  story  I  have  to  tell 
it  is  of  a  Tremendous  Bombardment 
whear  meany  Bums  fell 
upon  &  around  our  encampment 

3 

11  when  the  fight  first  begun 
the  federals  fired  the  first  gun 
Dark  and  gloomy  was  the  mom 
when  comder  foote  blew  his  horn 


4 'when  the  gun  boats  passd 
we  thought  it  was  our  last 
Stormy  &  Dark  was  the  night 
but  we  Brave  Boys  stood  to  fight 


"  our  general  thought  it  was  no  fun 
so  he  started  on  a  run 
when  ve  Surrendered  Island  Ten 
the  federals  had  ten  Thousand  men 


"  when  the  federals  came  on  land 
they  took  in  hand  our  little  Band 
But  we  could  not  give  them  Bail 
So  we  were  lodged  in  the  Cairo  Jail 


41  now  the  war  has  Just  Begun 
I  tell  you  Boy  tis  no  fun 
But  Brave  comrads  have  no  fear 
although  we  are  pointed  ai  with  many  a  Jeer 

8 

"  for  our  honest  Jeff  of  the  Southern  clime 
will  come  with  might  &  mein  combined 
and  with  a  strong  &  powerful  hand 
he  will  lead  us  back  to  our  native  Land 


"  we  Traveled  to  columbus 
by  rail  and  umnibus 
then  Col  Moody  a  hard  case 
closely  confined  us  in  camp  chase 

10 

"  from  there  to  Johnson's  Island 
where  the  winds  are  howling 
here  we  are  a  Thousand  in  all 
one  rebel  fell  by  a  musket  ball 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  143 

11 

*  Old  Major  Pierson 
a  man  without  reason 
Justified  the  Sentiual  in  his  cruelty 
for  shooting  a  rebel  for  his  Disloyalty 

12 

"  now  Boys  this  will  not  Doe 
friend  «  Tid '  is  it  not  True 
it  is  a  horrable  Shame 
for  the  feds  a  prisoner  to  mame 

13 

"  if  the  federals  will  come  South 
many  a  one  will  bite  the  Dust 
they  will  finde  it  is  mighty  hard 
for  them  to  conquer  our  Boregard 

14 

"  now  Boys  I  have  finished  my  rime 
I  will  tell  you  my  name  in  good  Time 
It  is  a  reble  Bill  Rupert 
after  this  you  will  not  consider  me  a  flert 

15 

"  now  my  song  it  is  complete 
Gentlemen  it  is  your  Treat 
my  Drink  it  is  ot  Brandy  Sling 
But  I  can  Drink  most  anything 

16 

"  Now  we  lye  and  wallow 
But  I  am  a  Verry  poor  Scholar 
But  we  will  leave  soon  I  am  thinking 
then  we  all  will  do  our  own  Drinking  " 

The  above,  on  the  Sir  John  Chandas  style,  is  present 
ed  in  justice  to  its  originality,  as  I  feel  there  is  but  little 
of  our  poetry  that  is  genuine,  it  is  mostly  tributary  to 
the  brain,  and  but  little  gushes  from  the  fountain  of  true 
and  genuine  poetry — the  heart.  I  have  known  poets  to 
descant  upon  the  virtues  of  society,  and  make  appeals  for 
sobriety,  and  get  intoxicated  the  same  night.  I  have 
known  them  to  write  the  most  moral  lines  on  honesty, 
confident  at  the  same  time  they  would  rob  a  church.  I 
have  seen  their  versification  in  print,  on  woman,  as  the 
"fairest  of  her  sex,  "the  weaker  vessel,"  "soother  of  our 
cares  and  .sorrows, "  and  yet  stand  the  self-same  day,  on 


144  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

a  crowded  thoroughfare  and  indulge  in  vulgarisms  at  the 
expense  of  the  subject  so  colored  in  Terse,  of  their  brains 
creation.  There  is  too  much  brain,  and  not  enough 
heart,  in  modern  poetry,  too  much  of  the  huskster  of 
song,  and  too  little  of  the  "troubadour." 

The  "Soidiers  Tear,"  "Alice  Gray,"  in  song,  are  tame 
to-day,  and  Goldsmith  and  Gray  are  lost  in  the  sensa 
tional  steam  poetry  of  the  hour.  (These  remarks  don't 
apply  strictly  to  the  above  poetry.) 

Standing  at  my  window,  looking  at  the  vessels  moving 
to  and  fro,  upon  the  broad  bosorn  of  the  lake,  with  their 
treasures  of  cargo  and  life,  their  prow's  directed  to  the 
wild  waste  of  waters,  trusting  to  the  same  Providence 
that  protects  those  on  land,  I  often  wonder  why  the  same 
Providence  has  left  the  old  Ship  of  State  to  the  mercy  of 
the  surging  waves  of  Abolitionism.  Onward  moves  a 
splendid  craft,  the  dim  outlines  of  frowning  clouds  are 
ominously  moving,  yet  the  apparently  staunch  craft  rides 
nervously  on,  rougher  and  fiercer  become  the  billows, 
more  threatening  the  thunder  claps,  the  blast  strikes  her, 
she  will  not  answer  the  helm,  drags  her  anchor,  and  in  a 
few  moments  more  is  upon  the  reef,  it  grows  dark,  she 
is  no  longer  discernable.  In  the  morning,  what  is  left 
of  her-,  is  a  wreck,  the  breakers  madly  leaping,  with  their 
white  caps  high  in  the  air,  against  the  shattered  sides  of 
the  once  strong  vessel,  that  now  creaks  and  strains,  as 
each  successive  attack  is  made  upon  her  now  dismantled 
and  helpless  form,  by  the  angry  waves  of  the  lake. 

How  much  is  involved  in  that  little  word — wreck, 
hopes,'  dreams,  expectations,  prospects,  and  schemes  half 
accomplished,  are  buried  with  the  wreck.  The  Union  is 
a  wreck,  and  the  once  noble  ship,  with  its  richly  laden 
freights,  has  drifted  into  the  sea  of  vicious  politics,  and 
been  wrecked  on  the  reefs  of  fanaticism. 

St.  Glair,*  as  we  familiarly  call  him,  is  one  of  the  most 
finished  scholars  in  the  pen;  is  a  constant  reader,  and  of 
much  taste,  is  charming  in  conversation,  and  edifying  in  his 
literary  offerings  to  his  friends.  Captain  Morgan  is  a 

*  St.  Clair  Morgan  was  killed  at  Cbickamaug^.    He  was  the  son  of  Colonel 
Samuel  Morgan,  of  Nashville,  Tennessee. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.         145 

gallant  soldier,  and  a  graduate  of  West  Point — fired  the 
first  gun  at  Sumpter,  since  credited  to  Ruffin,  of  Virginia; 
was  wounded  in  a  duel  at  Pensacola,  from  which  he  yet 
suffers ;  was  struck  with  a  shell  at  Donaldson,  at  which 
engagement  he  was  taken  prisoner,  •  carried  to  camp 
Chase,  and  from  there  to  this  pen,  where  he  is  the  life  of 
the  campus. 

The  tailoring  department  of  our  prison,  is  an  "extensive 
one.  We  have  two  shops.  Number  one  is  presided  over 
by  Captain  Samuel  Graham,  Company  D,  Fiftieth 
Tennessee  Regiment,  Lieutenant  W.  W.  Wilson,  Company 
F,  Walker's  Fortieth  Tennessee  Regiment,  J.  C.  Walters, 
Company  F,  Twenty-Sixth  Mississippi,  First  Lieutenant 
D.  H.  Hannah,  Company  D,  Third  Tennessee.  The  old 
saying  that  it  "takes  nine  tailors  to  make  a  man,"  has  been 
entirely  disproved  in  this  war,  for  some  of  our  most  gallant 
officers  are  of  this  department,  and  have  proven  themselves 
equal  to  nine  Yankees,  in  all  arms,  cavalry,  artillery  and 
infantry.  The  business  of  this  department  amounts  to  about 
fifty  dollars  per  day.  There  has  been  twelve  hundred  dollars 
spent  for  buttons  to  make  rings,  which  are  sold  to  prisoners 
as  high  as  one  dollar  and  a  half  each.  Our  shoemaker 
shop  turns  out  three  pairs  of  boots  per  week.  The 
barber  shop  is  constantly  filled.  We  have  an  ice  cream 
and  lemonade  establishment,  whose  net  receipts  are  six 
dollars  a  day.  Two  pie  establishments,  and  a  ginger-cake 
department,  under  the  control  of  a  captain,  who  seems 
more  affected  by  the  fluctuations  of  flour,  than  the  fortunes 
of  the  Confederacy.  Two  laundries,  price  of  washing  five 
cents  per  garment.  The  business  of  the  post  office,  nine 
dollars  per  day.  The  entire  summing  up  of  our  expendi 
tures,  four  hundred  dollars  per  day,  quite  a  business  tone 
for  a  population  of  one  thousand  one  hundred  and  fifty 
souls. 

The  "  Cincinnati  Enquirer,"  of  to-day,  states  that  General 
Jeff'  Thompson  sat  upon  horseback,  in  front  of  the  Gayoso 
hotel,  at  Memphis,  witnessing  the  naval  engagement  at  that 
place.  General  Thompson  was  formerly  Mayor  of  St. 
Joseph,  Missouri.  His  Southern  proclivities  drove  him 
into  the  swamps  of  his  State,  and  with  a  command  of 


146  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

some  hundreds  of  desperate  Missourians,  did  much  execu 
tion,  and  annoyed  the  Federal  armies  to  a  great  degree. 
He  would  make  an  excellent  ranger-chief,  but  as  to 
generalship,  he  is  too  impulsive  for  a  division  commander. 
The  General  is  known  by  a  yellow  hat  and  white  plume, 
and  a  big  Indian,  (his  aid,)  always  with  him. 

General  Jeff  Thompson  is  charged  with  being  too 
boisterous  and  hilarious.  He  may  be,  off  duty.  He  is  a 
splendid  judge  of  human  nature,  and  understands  how  to 
use  it,  as  well  as  "  oily  gammon."  In  justice  to  the 
Missouri ans  in  the  pen,  we  must  say  that  we  know  the 
slur  on  General  Thompson,  in  the  "  Cincinnati  Enquirer," 
(in  allusion  to  his  sitting  on-  horseback,  while  the  fight- 
was  progressing,  if  it  questions  his  courage),  to  be  a 
puerile  attack  on  a  gallant  officer,  who  has  no  ambition 
but  to  serve  the  South. 

This  is  the  26th  day  of  June,  1862,  and  as  per  the  daily 
Sandusky  papers,  the  "  Island  Queen  "  would,  with  a  gay 
party,  steam  around  the  bay  slow,  so  as  to  give  a  fine  view 
of  the  prisoner's  quarters.  She  is  now  passing,  crowded, 
with  both  sexes  vieing  with  each  other  in  displaying  their 
contempt  for  prisoners,  whose  fault  has  been  opposition 
to  tyranny  and  despotism ;  for  which  so-called  offense  we 
are  brought  here  to  be  gazed  at  by  a  vulgar  rabble,  as  if 
we  were  caged  hyenas.  They  would  even  stir  us  up  with 
a  pole,  -if  they  dared,  to  see  us  growl,  (perhaps  bite.) 
What  a  commentary  on  frail  humanity,  showing  the  utter 
depravity  of  the  human  heart,  the  entire  surrender  of  all 
that  is  manly  and  generous  in  the  soul,  to  gratify  a  mere 
idle  curiosity.  Woman,  she  whose  mission  is  one  of  love  and 
mercy,  also  throws  her  influence  into  the  scale,  and  jeers 
at  the  distressed.  They  are  certainly  not  Christians — if 
so,  I  don't  understand  what  it  is  to  be  a  disciple  of  Christ. 
If  such  people  go  to  Heaven,  the  Universalist  is  correct, 
there  is  no  h — -.  The  whole  Abolition  North  is  mad,  and 
will  only  awaken  to  their  senses,  when  the  South  takes  her 
place  through  Democratic  principles,  as  an  independent 
element  of  the  country. 

The  "Island  Queen"  is  passing  out  of  sight,  and 
"  Doodle "  and  "  Columbia "  are  faintly  heard  in  the 


SCRAPS  FEOM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  147 

distance  ;  as  an  Englishman  says  about  the  latter,  I  would 
not  give  a  glass  of  "  'alf  and  'alf  for  an  ogshead  of  'ail 
Columbia. 

Captain  Graham,  of  the  infantry,  an  aged  rebel  from 
Nashville,  Tennessee,  for  many  years  chief  of  the  tailoring 
corps  in  that  city,  proposes  three  groans  for  Beast  Butler, 
which  is  promptly  responded  to  with  a  will.  They  are 
out  of  sight,  and  the  "  Island  Queen,"  with  her  living  freight, 
is  homeward  bound  for  Cleveland.  They  will  never  see 
us,  nor  we  them  again.  They  will  marry  and  die,  and  a 
majority  of  them  may  possibly  go  to  the  d — 1. 

It  seems  strange  that  a  boat  load  of  men  and  women, 
should  consider  it  a  pleasant  excursion,  witnessing  the 
afflicted  of  humanity  in  some  of  their  ("  favorite  acts.") 
Retreat  sounds,  and  we  go  in. 

The  "Grape-vine  line"  of  Johnson's  island,  alluded 
to  in  another  "  scrap, "  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  on 
the  island.  It  is  under  the  control  of  men,  whose  repu 
tation  for  creating  expedients,  are  of  camp- wide  notoriety. 
They  build  up  the  most  wonderful  stories  of  speedy  ex 
change,  of  paroles,  of  great  victories  by  the  Confederate 
arms,  utter  annihilation  of  Federal  hosts,  and  the 
taking  of  thousands  of  prisoners.  It  has  an  agent 
in  each  mess,  whose  arrival  with  the  latest  news,  is 
received  with  strained  eye-balls,  and  palpitating  hearts, 
every  word  of  which  is  eagerly  swallowed,  because  the 
wish  is  father  to  the  thought,  and  hope  is  the  strongest 
element  in  our  nature,  4 '  lasting  beyond  the  grave. " 

I  think,  the  "  grape-vine"  line  was  a  powerful  agent,  in 
assisting  in  developing  the  slumbering  elements,  that 
burst  upon  the  country,  with  the  inauguration  of  war. 
Legislatures  were  influenced  by  its  action,  it  said  that 
things  were  done,  and  said  by  whom,  or  for  what.  We 
will  not  say,  but  we  can  say,  that  the  "  grape-vine  line" 
did  much  in  bringing  this  bloody  and  fraternal  strife  upon 
the  country.  There  are  Southern,  and  true  men,  who 
know  this  to  be  a  fact.  The  sutler,  "Joe,"  is  the  San- 
dusky  agent  of  the  line,  and  is  quite  a  character  in  his 
way.  Captain  Wiley  is  the  chief,  but  "Joe"  is  the  Fri 
day  of  the  establish ment.  "Joe"  winks  at  you,  and 


148  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

says,  "  It's  all  right,"  smuggles  in  a  drop  of  the  "  crater" 
(an  article  that  attracted  the  Irishman  to  the  apex  of 
Vesuvius,)  and  charges  you  double-price.  But  it's  clever 
in  Joseph.  The  sutler  is  the  most  important  man  on  the 
island.  He  is  required  to  sell  at  certain  figures,  which 
he  does,  but  they  are  not  low  figures,  (as  figures  don't  lie.) 
"Joe,"  however,  under  their  influence  fibbing  a  little, 
but  he  is  a  clever 'fellow,  (American,)  and,  for  a  sutler,  is 
as  honest  as  a  sutler  well  can  be.  He  has  been  kind  and 
obliging  to  us,  and  has  our  heart's  remembrance. 

Adjutant  G.  M.  Parker,  of  Mobile,  the  "roll- 
caller  "  of  our  mess,  calls  our  roll  for  the  purpose  of  facili 
tating  the  sergeant,  who  acts  in  that  capacity ;  it  is 
preferable  to  have  it  done  by  one  you  know.  Heretofore, 
at  roll-call,  we  all  fell  in  line,  in  two  ranks,  a  boy  ser 
geant  steps  up  in  front  of  the  line,  and  in  a  brusque 
manner,  addressing  a  hundred  gentlemen,  "fall  in  boys, 
I'm  in  a  hurry,"  showing  a  great  wantof  breeding.  We 
are  glad  he  has  left  us.  Parker  is  ever  in  a  good  humor, 
and  as  chief  of  our  mess,  keeps  posted  on  the  details  of  daily 
labor,  which  is  made  daily  from  the  rolls;  four  officers  as 
cook  and  assistants,  one  to  cook,  one  to  bring  water^  and 
one  to  wash  plates  and  cups.  The  keeping  of  colonels 
and  other  officers  in  proper  domestic  trim,  is  part  of  our 
adjuntant's  duty,  and  a  gratuity  on  his  part.  Lieutenant 
Parker  is  a  resident  of  twenty-five  years  standing-,  in 
Mobile,  Alabama,  of  unquestioned  integrity,  of  fine 
practical  ideas,  and  withal,  somewhat  of  a  poet. 

•'To 

"  Were  I  but  gifted  with  poetic  fire, 

For  you,  dear ,  I  would  tune  my  lyre, 

And  sing  in  Scott's  or  Milton's  lofty  strain, 
The  scenes  of  death  on  Shiloh's  bloody  plain ; 
Where  the  calm  quiet  of  a  Sabbath's  morn 
Was  startled  by  the  battle's  iron  storm  : 
Where  Southrons  fighting  for  their  sunny  land 
Met,  and  o'erthrew  the  mercenary  band  ; 
Where  many  a  hero  found  a  bloody  grave, 
And  yielded  up  the  life  he  freely  gave, 
To  check  the  hireling  and  to  stay  the  tide 
Of  hated  Yankees,  who  in  dreams  of  pride, 
Had  thought  to  subjugate  our  people  free, 


SCEAPS  FKOM  THE  PKISON  TABLE.        149 

Our  happy  land,  the  home  of  flowers  and  thee. 

But mine  is  no  poetic  muse  ; 

It  plods  along,  nor  soars  beyond  the  views 

Of  common  mortals  ;  so  in  rhyming  prose 

I'll  simply  tell  you  I  was  one  of  those 

Who  '  gobeled  up,'  when  fighting  at  the  worst, 

(Lieutenant  in  the  glorious  '  Twenty-first.' 

Of  Alabama's  sons)  have  learned  to  feel 

How  sad — far  from  thy  scenes-beloved  Mobile 

Is  exile  in  a  foreign — hostile  land, 

Far  from  the  sorrowing,  loving  household  band, 

Who  wait  my  coining,  may  it  not  be  long 

Ere  I  and  your  loved  Father  hear  the  song, 

'Our  country's  free  and  ceased,  rude  war's  alarms,' 

Of  joyful  welcome  to  the  loved-ones  arms. 

Adjutant  Parker  has  two  mess-mates,  his  table  being 
separate  from  the  grand  dining-room  of  the  Hotel  de 
Beauregard.  Lieutenant  Trepagnier,  of  the  guard  Fran- 
caise,  of  the  Crescent  city,  who  was  captured  at  Shiloh, 
is  like  every  pure  blooded  Frenchman  I  ever  met,  agree 
able,  witty,  and  courageous.  Lieutenant  John  Daily,  of 
the  Thirteenth.  Louisiana,  is  the  other  member  of  the 
table.  Being  an  associate  of  Parker's,  is  a  sufficient 
recommendation  to  any  circle,  stamping  him  as  an  intelli 
gent  gentleman. 

"  Hark !  what's  that  ?"  says  an  eager  listener,  as  the 
deep  bay  of  a  blood-hound  is  borne  to  our  ears,  by  the 
breeze  from  the  lake.  It  is  echoed  in  the  yelp  of  the 
fox-hunter,  until  we  almost  cry  "tally  ho."  Again  the 
mew  of  a  monstrosity  of  the  feline  species,  in  unison  with 
the  whine  of  its  mate,  now  the  bray  of  a  long-eared 
ammal,  nearly  breaks  a  pane  of  glass  in  our  window, 
with  its  sonorous  strength.  Chanticleer  is  exhuberant, 
while  his  "better  half"  clucks.  Braying,  yelping  and 
screeching,  crowing  and  hooting,  interspersed  with  cheer 
ing  is  making  night  hideous  to  our  custodians,  who,  alive 
to  any  opportunity  that  will  furnish  them  an  excuse  for 
shooting  some  of  us,  have  sent  in  an  officer,  who,  in  gruif 
tones,  orders  the  noise  to  cease,  or  the  sentinels  will  be 
instructed  to  fire  into  the  building,  as  the  sepulchral  voice 
of  a  sentinel  near  our  window,  lias  repeated  the  signal, 
"  half  past  nine  o'clock,  and  all's  well,"  reminding  us  that 
in  thirty  minutes,  "  taps  "  will  warn  us  to  put  out  our 


150  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

lights.  This,  in  conjunction  with  the  imperative  orders 
of  the  officer,  closes  the  jubilee,  and  Uhe  expressions  of  joy 
at  the  good  news,  is  checked  for  the  time  being.  The 
sentinels  call  the  half  hours,  for  the  purpose,  I  presume, 
of  keeping  awake,  which,  if  ineffectual,  operate  successfully 
with  us.  The  prisoner's  pulse  has  beat  high  to-day,  a 
consequence  of  the  supposed  good  news,  letters  from 
Washington.  Reports  relative  to  amicable  adjustments, 
all  tending  to  fasten  this  fancy  upon  the  prisoner's  mind, 
and  bid  him  hope  soon  to  be  in  the  "  happy  land  of 
Dixie."  Bouyancy  and  exhilaration  have  been  the  order 
of  the  day  ;  the  oxygen  of  the  camp  was  as  stimulating  as 
a  victory  to  our  arms.  Officers  bought  nick-nacks,  satchels 
sold  well.  There  was  much  talk  of  the  difficulty  of 
obtaining  stationery  in  the  South,  and  all  were  for 
taking  a  large  supply.  One  selfish  individual,  who  had 
purchased  a  quart  of  molasses,  not  being  liberal  enough 
to  divide  it,  and  too  economical  to  throw  it  away,  drank 
it  all  up,  and  a  pain  under  his  apron,  was  a  consequence. 
The  man  subdued  under  the  influence  of  his  incarceration, 
and  who  has  been  on  the  penitential  stool,  now  under  the 
influence  of  speedy  exchange,  begins  to  allow  the  outer 
world  to  engross  his  thoughts.  Magnificent  schemes  are 
dwelt  upon,  the  deception  of  attempting  to  smuggle  goods 
through  that  would  sell  at  the  South,  at  enormous  profits, 
was  canvassed.  Glimmering  of  future  military  distinction, 
loomed  up  in  some  minds.  Many  took  the  "  flattering 
unction  to  their  souls,"  a  speedy  termination  of  the  war, 
and  a  return  to  the  communion  of  their  household  Gods. 
I  hope  all  will  realize  their  dreams,  and  that  we  may  soon 
be  exchanged.  Good  news  is  as  a  medicine,  bad  as  depress 
ing  as  disease.  We  have  had  good  news  to  day,  and  new 
new  life  is  infused  into  our  heretofore  despondent  hearts. 
There  are  long  faces  in  prison  to-day.  Humor  states 
there  is  a  hitch  somewhere  in  the  exchange  business,  that 
Wool  and  linger  have  misunderstood  each  other.  I  look 
aiound  the  mess,  and  find  the  blue  faces  catching.  Lieu 
tenant  Gassaway,  of  the  Twenty- third  Mississippi,  gener 
ally  in  the  best  of  spirits,  and  one  of  the  best  fellows  in 
prison,  has  a  countenance  as  long  as  the  moral  law. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.         151 

Lieutenant  Roberts,  of  the  Third  Mississippi,  is  sitting, 
pensively  bent  over  his  chair,  with  his  chin  resting  on  his 
hands,  wanting  to  know  if  the  Yankees  havn't  quit  lying 
yet,  and  if  the  exchange  business  is  all  a  humbug.  J.  C. 
Turner,  of  the  Third  Mississippi,  is  quite  sober-sided,  is 
pulling  his  beard  with  one  hand,  and  holding  a  newspaper 
with  the  other,  a  fit  picture,  like  many  of  us,  for  a  comic 
almanac.  Lieutenant  Donoho,  of  the  famous  Tenth  Ten 
nessee,  has  taken  his  thoughts  and  gone  to  bed  with 
them.  Donoho  is  one  of  our  geniuses,  having  a  great 
amount  of  versatitity,  being  thorough  in  engineering  and 
infantry,  and  has  served  an  apprenticeship  in  some  half 
dozen  different  pursuits.  His  associate  in  the  mess,  Lieu 
tenant  Barrett,  of  the  Second  Kentucky,  is  sitting  by  his 
bunk,  whittling,  and  damns  everybody  that  says  a  word 
against  S.  B.  Buckner,  and  is  confident  that  exchange 
will  turn  out  all  right.  Lieutenant  McAlpine  has  dropped 
in,  for  sympathy,  and  finds  it  in  a  game  of  "old  sledge." 
Lieutenant  J.  Y.  Moore  and  Captain  Garrett,  of  the 
Third  Mississippi,  two  of  the  best  behaved  gentlemen  of 
our  mess,  are  brooding  over  the  bad  news  in  a  game  of 
"  draughts,"  and  in  their  alternate  successes,  forget  the 
checks  to  their  speedy  exchange.  Other  members  of  the 
mess  are  sleeping  off  their  anxieties. 

"  Nature's  sweet  restorer  balmy  sleep." 

This  great  restorative  is  our  only  restorative,  when  all 
others  fail.  Lieutenant  Daisey,  of  the  Third  Mississippi, 
one  of  the  most  sonscientious  men  we  have  in  the  mess, 
is  nodding,  with  that  great  soporific,  the  New  York 
"Herald,"  in  his  hand.  Lieutenant  Coleman,  of  Tennes 
see,  our  dry  humorist,  is  not  affected  either  way,  says,  he 
never  will  believe  he  is  exchanged,  until  his  foot  presses 
the  soil  of  "Dixie."  Lieutenant  A.  B.  Lewis,  of  the 
Third  Mississippi,  one  of  our  most  intelligent  members, 
with  a  manly,  yet  unobtrusive  manner,  is  solacing  himself, 
in  attempting  to  make  a  large  ring  out  of  a  small  button, 
a  task  as  difficult  as  ' '  squaring  a  circle. "  The  member  oi 
our  mess,  who  takes  the  news  the  most  philosophically,  is 


152  SCEAPS  FEOM  THE  PEISON  TABLE. 

Captain  Grace,  of  the  First  A.  T.  and  M.  Regiment.  He 
doesn't  trouble  himself  in  any  way  about  exchange,  he  is 
taciturn,  and  a  little  moody,  but  not  disagreeable.  Grace 
is  every  inch  a  man,  and  has  the  respect  of  the  mess. 
We  are  all  blue  to-day,  and  while  condoling  with  each 
other,  Lieutenant  Duncan,  of  Grace's  company,  comes 
in,  (having  lately  recovered  from  a  severe  illness,) 
remarking,  "  gqntlemen,  we  have  much  to  be  thankful 
for ;  to-morrow  the  news  may  be  better." 

"  Tis  education  forms  the  common  miud." 

Man  is  a  creature  of  habit,  a  victim  to  surrounding 
influences.  Put  a  man  in  prison,  and  if  it  is  his  iirst 
experience,  he  is  outrageous,  that  cure-all-time,  gives  him 
power  to  resolve  into  his  former  condition,  habit,  and  he 
is  resigned ;  but  let  the  cause  that  produced  the  effects, 
that  wound  him  up  in  prison,  be  brought  to  bear  upon 
his  apathetic  condition,  and  his  torpidity  changes  into 
restless  energy,  and  if  rebellious,  becomes  dangerous.  In 
aiess  number  three,  in  our  prison,  there  is  much  of  this 
rebellious  element,  that  only  requires  exertion  to  arouse 
to  a  Vesuvian  excitement,  scattering  plates,  if  not 
destruction,  around ;  break  up  cups  and  saucers,  if  not  the 
waters  of  the  mighty  depths  of  passion.  The  elementary 
character  of  block  three,  is  combustible,  being  composed 
of  electric  sparks-)  (so  the  women  say.)  It  has  much  dash, 
and  is  violently  nervous.  The  mess  has  made  character 
in  our  pen,  by  the  somnambulism  of  one  of  its  most  active 
members,  Captain  D.  T.  Campbell,  who  has  come  nearer 
than  uany  other  man,"  in  the  pen,  in  demonstrating  how 
much  a  man  can  sleep  without  it's  killing  him.  While 
Campbell  has  not  invented  perpetual  motion,  he  has 
accomplished  its  "atipodal,"  perpetual  sleep.  But  he 
may  be  like  the  Irishman's  horse,  who  died  from  starva 
tion,  on  the  termination  of  the  effect  to  live  without  eating. 
There  are  many  visitors  to  see  him  daily,  whose  presence 
don't  seem  to  disturb  his  somnolence.  Campbell  is  the 
chief  rebel  in  the  mess,  and  is  the  father  of  the  "  mess 
rebellion,  agitating  the  question  in  his  somnambulistic 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        153 

moments,  as  well  as  in  his  somniloquistic.  The  cause  of 
the  trouble  in  the  mess,  in  which  Captain  Campbell  and 
Lieutenant  McCall  are  so  deeply  interested,  is  a  supposed 
innovation  upon  the  rights  and  privileges  of  prisoners, 
not  laid  down  in  "Vattel"  or  "Puffendorf."  Our  mess 
has  likewise  caught  the  contagion,  and  there  is  a  suppressed 
grumbling.  Two  threatening  faces  look  daggers  at  federal 
officers.  Lieutenant  J.  A.  Connors,  Twenty-Sixth 
Mississippi,  and  Lieutenant  R.  S.  Cox,  same  regiment,  are 
intensified  by  the  news.  They  are  amiable  and  modest 
gentlemen,  but  decided  in  their  characters,  contemning 
any  action  that  cuts  short  their  privileges,  even  in  prison. 
Unless  the  cause  of  the  excitement  abates,  we  will  have 
trouble.  The  cause  being  nothing  more  or  less  than  an 
embargo  on  spirits,  our  alcoholic  imbibations  had  been 
interdicted  at  camp  Chase,  by  the  terrific  Moody,  he, 
who  would,  with  the 

"Aid  of  God, 
And  Governor  Todd, 
Carry  his  flag  to  Dixie." 

Moody  suppressed  our  stimulants,  yet  we  made  no  de 
monstrations.  But  it  in  this  damp  and  heavy  atmosphere, 
stimulants  had  been  a  necessity,  and  the  deprivation  has 
been  a  source  of  irritation  and  annoyance,  culminating  in 
a  disposition  to  "revolute."  Education  forming  the  com 
mon  mind,  reminds  us  that  it  is  only  on  such  minds,  that 
its  potency  is  felt,  as  the  world  over  "blood  will  tell," 
and  the  same  rebellious  blood,  that  makes  a  man  a  sinner, 
that  causes  him  to  take  up  arms  against  "  that  old  flag," 
and  makes  him  rebel  in  prison,  is  proof  that  Nature  will 
express  herself  in  spite  of  educational  forms  or  checks. 
The  "  common  mind  "  only  is  developed  by  education  ; 
education  may  assist  it,  but  not  remodel  it.  'Tis  only 
the  great  mind  that  properly  receives  educational  im 
pressions,  to  all  others,  the  acquisition  is  as  useless  as  the 
prattle  of  the  parrot.  The  palaver  about  school  and  col 
lege,  making  mind,  is  all  humbug,  'tis  the  same  as  the 
tailor  making  the  physique;  the  close  observer  easily 
detects  the  padding  in  the  ill-shaped  form.  Great  men 
are  great,  regardless  of  education  or  adornment. 
11 


154         SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

A  collegiate  course  seems  to  be  a  necessity,  cramming 
and  gorging,  thus  choking  the  brain,  giving  us  weeds 
with  the  growth  of  intellect,  causing  the  mind  to  be  de 
rivative,  rather  than  original,  as  the  student  who  is  a 
slave  to  the  ideas  of  others,  finds  them  an  absorbent  of 
the  few  he  may  possess.  Like  most  musicians,  they  are 
not  composers,  (although  they  think  so,)  they  but  arrange, 
taking  one  eigthth  of  Mozart,  a  sixteenth  of  Strauss,  and 
a  sixteenth  of  Handel,  or  fractions  of  other  masters,  whose 
ideas  they  have  drank  in  during  their  course  of  study,  and 
present  the  world,  with  what  is  supposed  to  be,  an  original 
effort.  The  same  process  of  arrangement  applies  to  all 
— literature,  art,  and  science.  There  is  not  one  artist  in 
a  host  of  so-called — he  who  creates,  is  one.  The  imitator 
is  a  mechanic,  he  who  adds  a  shade  or  color  of  Ins  own 
conception,  should  be  classed  among  the  former,  while 
the  exact  imitator  of  the  most  beautiful  specimen  of  art, 
should  be  classed  among  the  latter.  Art,  as  an  original, 
is  superior  to  mechanism,  as  a  derivative,  giving  to  the 
latter  the  benefit  of  educational  forms.  We  call  art  beau 
tiful,  because  the  beautiful  does  not  awaken  desire.  M. 
Cousin  defines  :  kt  To  desire  the  subject,  is  proof  that  it  is 
not  beautiful,  as  'tis  only  material  and  derivative,  subjects 
that  invite  sensual  desire,  the  beautiful  is  beyond  the  reach 
of  vulgar  emotion." 

Education  does  not  create  Revolutions ;  they  are  the 
result  of  natural  laws,  one  of  which  has  been  disturbed 
by  the  refusal  of  old  "  sand  sifter,"  to  allow  spirits  to 
come  in,  even  for  medicinal  purposes,  and  my  two  gal  hint 
friends  are  morally  in  arms,  indulging  in  the  refrain-song 
of  yore,  by  an  old  Negro,  "  Kit,"  of  Memphis  celebrity, 
who  would  drink  a  pint  at  a  draught,  enthusiastically 
singing: 

"  Oh,  whiskey,  oh,  whiskey,  you  very  well  know, 
You  have  kicked,  you  have  cuffed,  you  have  laid  me  so  low." 

"'Nother  drink,  please,  master." 

There  are  not,  in  Tennessee,  two  more  agreeable  com 
panions,  than  Messrs.  Campbell  and  McCall,  botli  being 
pre-eminent  for  corn-age  and  gentlemanly  deportment,  and 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.         155 

* 

when  they,  chiefs  of  mess  3,  say  revolute,  the  "  sans  cu- 
lotte "  without  the  walls,  had  better  rescind  the  order 
that  is  tending  to  promote  discord,  or  Bacchus  will  be 
once  more  enthroned  upon  the  debris  of  Johnson's  island 
grapes,  a  cheaper  process,  than  paying  our  meek  and 
rascally  steward  two  dollars  a  bottle  for  swill. 

"  SourkroutV  arrival  is  heralded  with  unfeigned  pleas 
ure.  He  is  our  milk  and  vegetable  vender.  "Dutchy" 
has  had  the  trade  of  the  prison  since  our  arrival,  and,  of 
course,  is  feathering  his  nest.  I  don't  know  that  his  milk 
is  like  the  Dutchman's,  who  made  his  fortune  selling  half 
and  half,  and  on  his  return  to  the  Faderland,  while  ^.mut 
ing  his  money  on  shipboard,  the  bag  wras  seized  by  a 
monkey,  and  carried  aloft,  "  Jacko  "  taking  out  the  coins, 
and  dropping  one  into  the  ocean  and  one  on  the  deck, 
alternately,  The  Dutchman,  when  sympathised  with,  re 
plied,  "  dat  ish  right,  what  come  from  the  vater,  lie  give 
to  the  vater/'  , 

This  milk  question  reminds  me  of  an  incident,  related 
to  me  by  that  prince  of  good  fellows,  and  greatest  living 
wag,  Henry  Dollis,  of  Memphis,  Tennessee.  A  milk  man, 
who  furnished  the  steamboats  with  the  lacteal  fluid,  was 
remonstrated  with,  on  the  thinness  of  his  milk.  He  would 
hand  the  steward  ten  or  twenty  dollars,  and  the  milk  next 
day  was  thinner.  At  last  an  inspector  came  around,  with  a 
hydrometer,  testing  all  milk  sold  on  the  river.  The  stew 
ard  excitedly  informed  the  milk  man,  that  his  milk  only 
raised  twenty-three — "  what  is  requisite,"  twenty-seven. 
The  next  day  the  test  was  applied,  it  rose  to  thirty-two. 
"  The  heaviest  milk  I  ever  tested,"  says  the  inspector. 
"How  did  he  do  it,  Dollis?"  "  Simply  added  one  pint  of 
molasses  and  another  gallon  of  water,  to  the  can  that 
held  four  gallons  mixed,  with  an  additional  twenty  dol- 
^lars."  How  can  a  man  buy  hay,  and  haul  water,  to 
dilute  with,  and  sell  pure  milk  ?  'Tis  impossible. 

Our  Dutch  vender  doesn't  pour  water  in  his  milk,  but 
milk  in  his  water.  He  remarked  to  us,  a  few  days  ago, 
that  his  cow  had  calved  the  night  before  ;  dat  de  milk 
vas  goot  and  strong  for  soltiers  dis  morning.  "  Hans  " 
was  in  great  distress  on  yesterday.  He  understood  we 


156  SCKAPS  FEOM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

were  to  be  exchanged,  and  with  frantic  ejaculations  ex 
claimed,  "  Mem  Gott,  mein  Gott,  va^t  can  I  do  if  dese 
brisoners  leave  ;  I  nsht  gone  and  buy  twenty  more  cows. 
Mein  Gott,  mein  Gott."  I  believe  the  old  scoundrel 
would  keep  us  here  for  ten  years,  if  he  could  make  fifty 
cents  a  day  selling  us  milk.  These  Dutch  are  pretty 
heavy  on  suffering  humanity,  particularly  on  secesh  prison 
ers.  Our  Dutchman  will  get  rich,  selling  us  strong  milk, 
go  to  the  Faderland,  become  a  Burgmaster,  and  look  upon 
all  milk  venders  with  suspicion  and  disgust. 

"  Cans't  thou  administer  to  a  mind  deceased." 
. 

A  good  physician  should  know  the  power  of  mind  over 
matter,  and  treat  the*  former  as  carefully  as  the  latter. 

When  Jack  JIandy*  goes  into  a  sick  chamber,  with 
his  irresistible  manner,  he  places  his  cane  carefully  in 
the  corner,  his  hat  is  then  handed  to  the  servant,  his 
gloves  are  carefully  drawn,  and  if  unexceptionable,  are 
placed  upon  the  chair  or  stand,  then  the  gay,  tyet  ac 
complished  Jack,  shows  his  fine  teeth,  shakes  his  luxuri 
ant,  really  handsome  head  of  curly,  coal-black  hair,  and 
with  a  smile,  the  well  dressed  and  fresh  looking  Jack 
Handy  approaches  the  bedside  of  the  sufferer,  who  by 
this  time  by  the  physician's  tact  lias  had  time  to  recover 
from  his  nervousness,  caused  by  the  announcement  of  his 
arrival.  The  pillows  had  to  be  arranged,  the  coverlid 
respread,  a  little  cologne  spread  here  and  there,  the  rela 
tives  or  friends  take  position  near  the  patient,  all  is  ready, 
and  when  Jack  reaches  the  patient's  pulse,  his  little 
studied  arrangement  has  given  him  time  to  settle  down 
his  pulse  to  a  beat  conformable  with  the  action  of  the 
disease.  Jack  looks  at  the  patient's  tongue,  feels  his 
pulse,  comprehends  the  diagnosis  in  an  instant.  If  a 
purgative  is  needed,  he  finds  out  whether  the  subject  is 
accustomed  to  calomel,  oil,  jallop,  or  magnesia,  and  then 
if  either  has  been  the  habit,  the  other  acts  more  ready ; 

*  Captain  Handy  died  on  his  plantation,  in  Mississippi,  1867.  Our  friend  is 
gone  were  the  stern  alarm  of  war  no  longer  affrights,  nor  the  sound  of  "big 
gate  *  attracts  to  the  window,  yet  his  ringing  laugh  is  even  now  vibrating 
through  memory's  corridors. 


SCEAPS  TKOM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        157 

some  are  monomoniacs  on  "  bine  mass,"  others  on  salts. 
Jack  Handy  is  aufait  on  these  distinctions,  and  from  the 
fact  of  being  a  fine  judge  of  human  nature,  is  a  fine  phy 
sician,  can  tell  a  yarn  with  a  better  grace,  and  laugh  more 
heartily  at  its  detection,  than  any  man  living,  is  one  of 
the  proprietors  of  the  "  grape-vine  line "  and  "  prison 
telegraph."  He  was  captured  at. Fort  Donaldson. 

Dr.  Woodbridge,  although  a  loyal  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  is  worthy  of  remembrance  by  myself  and  fellow- 
prisoners,  as  a  kind,  considerate  and  humane  officer,  and 
like  his  good  wife,  has  much  of  the  milk  of  human  kindness 
in  his  composition.  He  has  been  quite  attentive  to  our 
wants,  and  has  our  grateful  acknowledgments. 

Some  eschew  medicine,  and  take  their  text  with 
Shakespeare,  "  throw  physic  to  the  dogs,  I'll  none  of  it." 
This  is  well  when  men  are  in  good  health,  but  when  ill, 
obtain  a  good  physician,  a  man  of  science,  not  a  charlatan 
or  quack  one,  of  will,  strong  perceptive  faculties,  tact, 
and  address.  "An  ounce  of  prevention  is  worth  a  pound 
of  cure,"  is  trite,  but  does  not  justify  an  individual  in 
continually  dosing  himself  with  ounces,  aforesaid,  hoping 
thereby  to  ignore  a  necessity  for  pounds.  The  Italian 
tombstone  has  it,  "  I  was  well,  wanted  to  be  better,  here 
I  am."  ^  It  is  like  a  man  beginning  with  scruples  and 
winding  up  with  drams. 

Many  depreciate  the  use  of  medicine.  This  is  wrong. 
If  we  lived  like  the  Aborigines,  hunted,  slew,  and  cooked, 
the  food  we  eat,  drank  of  the  limpid  stream,  and  were  in 
constant  action,  then  we  might  have  110  use  for  medicine, 
but  when  we  live  artificially,  eat  late  suppers,  surfeit  on 
grand  dinners,  make  swill-tubs  of  our  stomachs,  dram-shop 
signs  of  our  probosces,  all  tending  to  keep  our  minds 
constantly  irritated  by  ideas  foreign  to  our  happiness,  it 
seems  plain  enough  that  these  artificial  diseases  require 
artificial  remedies,  hence  the  necessity  for  the  physician, 
of  which  class,  we  have  seventeen  in  our  prison,  many  of 
whom  are  among  the  most  eminent  surgeons  of  the  South. 

Dr.  J.  M.  Jackson,  surgeon  of  the  Forty-second 
Tennessee  Regiment,  has  immediate  charge  of  the  hospital, 
and  is  a  man  of  great  force  of  volition,  and  of  a  high  order 


158  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

of  surgical  talent,  a  deep  thinker,  and  of  strictly  temperate 
habits. . 

Dr.  Joseph  E.  Dixon,  of  the  Tennessee  Battalion,  is  of 
much  nobility,  acts  and  thinks  simultaneously,  of  un 
flinching  nerve,  a  polished  gentleman,  showing  the  usage 
of  good  society. 

Dr.  F.  Grant,  Thirty-second  Tennessee,  is  a  quiet 
gentleman,  and  from  his  care  and  nicety  of  arrangement, 
will  make  an  excellent  family  physician,  one  who  will 
inspire  confidence  in  a  sick  chamber  with  his  calm  presence 
and  positive  treatment. 

Dr.  A.  H.  Voorhies.  Nature  made  Voorhies  a  surgeon 
and  physician.  Education  and  commingling  with  the 
best  society  has  formed  him  a  gentleman.  His  quiet 
deportment  and  impressive  urbanity,  would  assauge  much 
of  the  severity  of  his  patient's  affliction. 

Dr.  J.  M.  Taylor,  Twenty-sixth  Mississippi,  an  able 
practitioner,  and  well-informed  gentleman. 

Dr.  O.  Becker,  a  gentleman  of  versatile  accomplishments, 
a  fine  musician  and  composer,  and  a  man  of  science.  Dr. 
Becker,  although  a  foreigner,  is  enthusiastic  in  the  sup 
port  of  the  Confederate  cause. 

Assistant  Surgeons,  Thomas  M.  Nichols,  Ninth 
Battalion ;  J.  J.  Dumont,  Fiftieth  Tennessee ;  W.  B. 
Mills,  Fiftieth  Tennessee ;  J.  J.  Mills,  Twentieth 
Mississippi ;  M.  S.  Neely,  —  -  Tennessee  ;  N.  J.  Kogers, 
Twenty-sixth  Mississippi ;  W.  G.  Owens,  Graves' 
Battalion,  Tennessee ;  H.  Griffin,  Fiftieth  Virginia ;  B. 
M.  Croxton,  Graves'  Battalion ;  C.  II.  Edwards,  Thirtieth 
Tennessee.  The  above  surgeons  and  assistant  surgeons 
are  rnen  whose  proclivities  for  the  excitement  of  camp 
and  field  have  led  them  to  enter  the  army;  a  fine 
opportunity  being  thus  furnished  for  the  development 
science.  A  large  number  of  amputations,  and  the  various 
characters  of  wounds  and  contusions  that  are  under  con 
stant  treatment,  are  fine  subjects  aiding  the  cultivation  of 
new  systems  that  will  tend  to  the  amelioration  of  pain, 
and  present  more  cases  and  experiences  to  the  world  of 
medicine.  It  is  a  melancholy  spectacle  presented  to  the 
world— the  present  war — the  meeting  of  Greek  with 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        159 

Greek,  yet  "  it  is  an  ill  wind  that  blows  nobody  any 
good,"  and  amid  all  the  sufferings  and  horrors  of  war, 
the  field  of  medical  science  is  being  opened  and  expanded, 
thus  benefiting  future  generations.  Yet  I  question  very 
much,  whether  the  returned  surgeon  from  the  field  of 
quick  and,  too  often,  careless  amputations,  is  as  fit  as  the 
regular  home  practitioner,  to  attend  the  duties  of  private 
practice  (for  the  time  being.) 

To-day  we  learn,  the  surgeons  are  to  be  released  un 
conditionally.  This  is  a  move  in  the  right  direction. 
Although  a  deprivation  to  us,  'twill  be  but  a  sheer  act  of 
justice  to  them. 

In  walking  along  the  street,  how  frequently  one  be 
comes  lost  to  the  external  world  of  sense  and  materiality, 
and  feeds  upon  his  own  thoughts,  how  often  in  stepping 
on  a  pebble,  you  have  felt  an  irresistible  desire  to  kick  it 
ahead  of  you,  and  if  it  should  fall  towards  the  curbing,  a 
feeling  of  anxiety  springs  up,  to  keep  it  in  its  place  on  the 
pave,  and  you  will  follow  it  up,  kicking  at  it  until  an  un 
lucky  kick  sends  it  into  the  gutter,  then  you  feel  an 
indiscribable  relief,  and  your  ideas  become  more  alive  to 
passing  events.  Have  you  not,  in  promenading,  musingly 
began  to  count  your  steps,  guessing  how  many  it  would 
take  to  reach  a  certain  point,  and  on  n earing  the  goal, 
seeing  you  have  improperly  guessed  the  distance,  rushed 
eagerly  forward,  lengthening  the  steps,  or  if  you  to  near, 
shortening  them,  with  as  much  interest  as  if  a  kingdom 
wras  at  stake  ?  The  illustration  is  simple,  but  is  given  to 
show  the  perfect  simplicity  of  that  mind,  so  much  boasted 
of  by  the  "lords  of  creation,  its  imperfections,  and  one- 
ideaisrn. 

We  are  all  weak  by  nature,  and  the  boasted  individual 
strength  is  not  the  result  of  acquisition,  but  a  constitu 
tional  virtue,  and  much  to  be  pitied,  are  the  unfortunate, 
who  have  suffered  from  poverty  and  pernicious  example. 
The  Cyprian  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Roue  on  the  other, 
are  objects  of  commiseration.  Much  of  the  opprobrium 
and  epithetical  denunciations  hurled  upon  the  erring,  by 
those  who  circumstances  have  placed  them  above  the  want 
of  vice,  will,  like  most  curses,  (chicken-like, )  come  home 


160  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

to  roost.  We  should  pity  and  reclaim,  not  decry,  and  give 
up  ;  should  sympathize  with  and  protect,  not  "  turn  the 
cold  shoulder"  to  the  weak  and  guilty,  but  take  them  by 
the  hand,  in  the  bonds  of  friendship,  love  and  truth, 
knowing  the  mutability  of  man,  and  his  many  frailties. 

In  ruminating  on  our  promenades,  with  the  great  vol 
ume  of  the  "genus  homo"  open  before  us,  we  are  forcibly 
impressed,  with  the  spirit  of  the  musings'  spoken  of,  and 
are.  not  disposed  to  "crowd."  Now  there  passes  a 
soldier  from  a  certain  village  until  he  left  it,  it  supplied 
his  conceptions  of  all  that  is  beautiful ;  he  goes  to  a  larger 
place,  and  finds,  alone  by  comparison,  the  insignificance 
of  his  former  home,  and  feels  that  he  has  reached  the 
Mecca  of  his  hopes ;  thence  to  a  metropolis,  again  his 
ideas  change,  and  he  conforms  to  the  tastes  and  habits 
of  others — proving  himself  an  inconsistent  creature  of 
change,  not  realizing,  "  that  pigmies  are  pigmies,  tho' 
perched  on  Alps,  and  pyramids  are  pyramides  in  vales." 
Such  a  man  is  the  creation  of  the  hour,  was  my  enemy  of 
yesterday,  perhaps  my  friend  to-day,  and  possibly  my 
reviler  to-morrow.  He  became  a  soldier  because  Jim 
and  John  joined,  is  burning  for  distinction,  but  when  in 
close  quarters,  thinks  it  judicious  to  retreat ;  when  cap 
tured,  gets  intimate  with  the  enemy,  will  soon  take  the 
oath,  go  home,  and  in  a  week  afterwards,  would  desire 
to  be  in  the  field  again,  from  habit,  to  which  all  common 
minds  bear  slavish  allegiance ;  he  is  not  to  be  blamed, 
but  he  with  others  such  in  prison,  are  weak  brothers. 

The  Catholic  church  comprehends  this  weakness  of 
man,  and  startles  the  imagination  with  its  pomp  and 
pageantry.  The  Methodist  church  follows,  with  the 
enthusiasm  of  its  revival.  France  understands  the  sus 
ceptibility  of  man,  and  touches  with  its  military  wand, 
the  pride  and  circumstance  of  war ;  and  a  inagnificient 
army,  with  its  splendid  paraphernalia,  strikes  with 
wonder,  the  imagination  of  the  gazing  multitude.  Since 
time  immemorial,  the  world  has  studied  to  impress  the 
imagination  of  man,  as  'tis  one  of  his  weakest  points. 
Columbus  broke  his  egg  for  effect,  so  did  Alexander  cut 
the  "gordian  knot,"  as  he  also  rode  "Bucephalus."  The 


SCRAPS  FEOM  THE  PRISON  TABLE]  161 

"tub"  of  Diogones  was  also  of  similar  device,  as  were  the 
Delphic  oracles.  The  Persian  poet,  Sadi,  went  bare 
footed  to  accomplished  the  same  end,  and  like  our  chief 
custodian,  wears  a  white  cravat,  to  impress  with  his 
sanctity,  while  he  maltreats  prisoners,  'tis  all  a 
species  of  quackery,  reminding  us  of  the  'anecdote  of  the 
quack,  who,  while  riding  in  his  carriage,  was  accosted 
by  an  eminent  surgeon  of  the  old  school: 

"How  is  it  you  succeed  by  imposture,  while  we  of  the 
regular  profession,  well  nigh  starve  ?" 

"Easy  enough,  forsooth;  do  you  see  that  crowd  of  a 
•hundred  persons  ?  In  it  there  are  ninety  fools,  and  ten 
wise  men,  the  former  are  my  patients,  the  latter  yours, 
and  as  a  rule,  the  fools  have  the  most  money. "  - 

Placards  and  the  teeming  columns  of  the  press,  attract 
the  attention,  and  the  bumps  of  the  marvelous  and 
imaginative  are  tapped,  and  success  follows.  Barnum  is 
a  practical  illustration  of  what  use  can  be  made  of  man's 
imagination,  as  he  has  humbuged  them  from  "mermaids"' 
to  "gorillas."  In  church  and  state,  social  and  political 
life;  it  is  all  the  same,  all  action  seems  predicated  on  the 
weakness  of  humanity.  The  true  secret  of  happiness  is 
to  accept  these  truths,  but  not  to  abuse  the  knowledge 
they  impart.  Don't  force  your  Aveaker  brother  into  for 
bidden  paths,  be  kind  to  him,  and  if  he  wont  conform  to 
you,  do  like  Mahomet,  "if  the  mountain  will  not  come  to 
Mahomet,  Mahomet  will  go  to  the  mountain."  Let  us 
emulate' that  part  of  his  wisdom,  even  if  we  cannot  ac 
cept  the  romance  of  the  Koran. 

"Kick  not  against  the  pricks,"  but  be  susceptible,  be 
"taken  in"  once  and  a  while,  you  will  feel  better,  have 
eoniiclence  and  faith,  and  as*  you  pass  your  erring  brother 
or  sister,  have  compassion,  let  mercy  linger  'round  your 
heart.  Flee  bigotry,  that  most  abominable  of  sins,  that 
seems  to  be  enthroned  in  the  very  soul  of  Abolitionism, 
so  graphically  described  by  Charles  Phillips,  i '  The  Abo 
lition  preacher  or  bigot:" 


162  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

"He  has  no  head,  he  cannot  think, 
No  heart,  he  cannot  feel ; 
When  he  moves,  it  is  in  wrath. 
When  he  pauses,  'tis  amidst  ruin. 
His  prayers  are  curses,  his  communion  death ; 
His  decalouge  is  written  in  the  blood  of  his  murdered  victims  ; 
And  if  he  pauses,  for  an  instant,  in  his  infernal  flight, 
It  is  to  whet  his  fangs  upon  some  kindred  rock, 
To  prepare  for  some  more  sanguinary  desolation." 

How  much,  happier  is  that  condition,  where  the  people 
are  influenced  by  teachings  of  "peace  and  good-will  to 
all  mankind,"  who  evince  a  superiority  of  soul  in  bend 
ing  to  the  necessities  of  man's  defects ;  that  feels  that  as' 
the  man  allows  his  attention  to  be  engrossed  by  the 
pebble  on  the  pave,  so  will  he  be  sensitively  alive,  to  the 
externals  of  kindness,  charity  and  affection,  he  will  be  a 
child,  acting  and  thinking  like  one;  make  him  so,  and  you 
prepare  him  for  Heaven,  for  such  is  the  kingdom,  and 
thus  win  a  Heavenly  crown  for  yourself. 

We  call  some  thirty-five  or  forty,  (it  may  be  fifty,) 
prisoners,  a  batch ;  one  or  two  hundred  would  be  an 
arrival,  a  squad  we  hardly  notice.  The  prisoners  alluded 
to,  of  North  Carolina  and  Georgia  volunteers,  was  quite 
an  event,  and  we  compliment  them  with  the  title  of  an 
"arrival."  They  came  in,  attracting  much  attention,  by 
their  fine  bearing,  handsome  uniforms,  and  general 
martial  appearance,  and  as  a  whole,  are  the  best  looking 
"crowd"  that  have  honored  us  with  their  presence. 
Among  them  wTe  notice  some  of  the  best  blootl  of  the 
Carolinas,  and  brightest  intellects  of  Georgia,  whose 
gallantry  on  the  field — if  we  had  space  for  incidents — 
would  cause  a  glow  of  pride  to  rise  to  the  cheek  of  every 
lover  of  the  South,  and  heroic  deeds.  As  in  all  wars, 
where  renown  is  to  be  gained  by  acts  of  chivalry,  so  in 
this,  the  Celtic  element  is  found,  one  of  whose  brightest 
ornaments  stands  before  us,  six  feet,  two  inches  in  height, 
standing  as  firm  as  Roderick  Dhu,  is  Lieutenant  Christo 
pher  Hussey,  of  the  Montgomery  Guards,  of  Savannah, 
Georgia.  He  was  born  in  Ireland,  in  1820,  arrived  in 
Georgia,  1841,  became  thoroughly  Southern,  and  en 
tered  the  service  of  the  Confederate  States,  to  aid  in 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        163 

checking  the  encroachments  of  a  fanatical  domination, 
whom,  he  says,  will  entail  the  same  miseries  upon  the 
South,  that  their  parent,  that  accursed  despotism,  has 
inflicted  Ireland  with.  Lieutenant  Hussey  was  captured 
at  Fort  Pulaski,  April  llth,  1862. 

*Colonel  H.  Olmstead,  First  Volunteer  Eegiment  of 
Georgia.  This  gallant  officer's  defense  of  Fort  Pulaski, 
is  a  matter  of  history ;  he  is  a  gentleman,  in  or  out  of 
prison  ;  like  all  brave  men,  he  is  a  lamb  in  peace,  in  war, 
a  lion.  Colonel  C.  M.  Avery,  f  Thirty-third  Regiment, 
North  Carolina  Troops.  Colonel  Avery  is  one  of  your 
grand,  old-fashioned  North  Carolina  gentlemen,  repre 
senting  a  large  landed  estate.  He  espoused  the  Southern 
cause,  strictly  in  a  spirit  of  patriotism,  and  one  can  see 
from  his  manly  appearance,  the  stern  and  inflexible 
patriot.  He  is  resigned  to  his  situation,  yet  is  anxious  to 
be  once  again  at  the  head  of  his  regiment,  that  is  now 
with  North  Carolina,  gallantly  assisting  in  driving  the 
invader  from  their  hearths.  North  Carolina  may  well  be 
proud  of  her  representative  in  prison,  as  few  circles  are 
adorned  with  a  brighter  social  element,  than  the  noble 
Avery. 

Major  John  Foley,  First  Georgia  Volunteers,  is  a 
native  of  Ireland,  and  having  suffered  from  English  op 
pression  in  that  country,  has  drawn  his  sword  in  defense 
of  the  South,  to  save  her  from  the  de'graded  condition  of 
his  own  down- trodden  " Green  Isle."  He  is  a  gallant 
Irishman,  with  the  generosity  and  courage  so  character 
istic  of  his  race.  Captain  F.  W.  Simms,  of  same  regi 
ment.  Captain  Simms  is  one  of  the  most  sprightly  in 
tellects  in  prison,  has  been  connected  with  the  press  of 
Georgia  for  years,  and  to  his  pen  we  are  indebted  for 
many  substantial  articles,  in  defense  of  Southern  interests. 
Among  the  other  distinguished  officers  present,  are  H. 
C.  Freeman,  first  lieutenant,  Oglethrope  Light  In 
fantry;  J.  D.  N.  Sutton,  second  lieutenant,  Wise 
Guard,  formerly  of  Wise  Legion,  transferred  *  to  the 
Twenty-fifth  Regiment,  Georgia  Volunteers,  December 
7,  1861,  thence  to  First  Volunteer  Regiment  of  Georgia, 
February  11,  1862  ;  Second  Lieutenant  A.  G.  McArthur, 


164        SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

Washington  Volunteer  Regiment,  Georgia;  George  W. 
Tennet,  engineer  corps,  Confederate  States  Navy; 
Lieutenant  Charles  H.  H.  Umbrock,  First  Georgia ; 
Lieutenanant  John  J.  Symons,  First  Georgia;  Captain 
Robert  D.  Walker,  Confederate  States  Army,  of  Georgia  ; 
Captain  R.  W.  Brown,  Eighteenth  North  Carolina, 
captured  at  Hanover  Court  House,  a  gentleman  whose 
heart  is  in  his  hand,  and  one  of  the  best  behaved  gentle 
men  in  prison,  an  ornament  to  the  service,  and  a  social 
treasure  to  his  friends.  Second  Lieutenant  B.  .Werner, 
First  Georgia.  Werner,  like  our  friend  Umbrock,  is 
German.  The  Americans  are  too  prone  to  call  every 
German  a  d — d  Dutchman.  The  Dutch  come  from  a 
very  small  district,  whereas  Germany  is  composed  of 
thirty-eight  States,  that  have  given  us  a  host  of  eminent 
painters,  lawyers,  theologians,  historians  and  mechanics, 
comprising  a  citizenship,  that  we  are  glad  to  welcome  to 
our  own  shores,  among  which  class,  our  two  friends  occupy 
an  enviable  social  position.  Mathew  H.  Hopkins,  First 
Georgia ;  Robert  Erwin,  captain  and  quarter-master, 
Confederate  States  Army ;  John  A.  Elaine,  second  lieu- 
tennant,  Twenty-fifth  Georgia ;  T.  W.  Manniford,  same 
regiment;  Samuel  D.  Zane,  lieutenant,  same  regiment, 
captured  at  Hanover  Court  House,  May  27,  1862;  N. 
Boharmon,  first  lieutenant,  Twenty-eighth  Regiment, 
North  Carolina  Volunteers ;  J.  W.  Vinson,  second  lieu 
tenant,  North  Carolina  Volunteers,  captured  at  New- 
bern,  North  Carolina,  March  14,  1862  ;  Lieutenant  R. 
L.  Steele,  Thirty-seventh  Regiment,  North  Carolina 
Volunteers;  J.  N.Anderson,  second  lieutenant,  Thirty- 
third  Regiment,  North  Carolina  Volunteers  ;  Lieutenant 
Christopher  Murphy,  Captain  J.  M.  McMahou,  First 
Georgia,  captured  at  Fort  Pulaski,  April  11,  1862; 
Captain  T.  W.  Mayhew,  Thirty-third  Regiment,  North 
Carolina  Volunteers ;  S.  W.  Stowe,  captain*  Twenty- 
eighth  North  Carolina  Volunteers ;  Captain  Oscar  R. 
Rand,  Twenty-sixth  North  Carolina  Volunteers ;  M.  T. 
Farthing,  captain,  Thirty-seventh  North  Carolina  Vol 
unteers  ;  First  Lieutenant  R.  C.  Hanser,  Thirty-third 
North  Carolina  Volunteers;  Lieutenant  J.  S.  Eggars, 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  165 

37th  North  Carolina  Volunteers ;  Lieutenant  William  A. 
Stewart,  Thirty-Seventh  North  Carolina  ;  Lieutenant  C. 
Scott,  Twenty-eighth  North  Carolina  Volunteers  ;  Lieu 
tenant  John  Baily,  Company  B,  Chalmette  Rifles,  Fifth 
Louisiana  Volunteers,  captured  on  the  Chickahominy, 
May  24,  1862.  I  have  given  an  extended  notice  of  the 
gentlemen  mentioned,  having  been  attracted  to  them  by 
their  high-toned  deportment,  and  soldierly  bearing. 

Our  prison  has  seemed  more  cheerful,  since  their 
arrival.  They  haye  an  excellent  club  of  amateur  musi 
cians,  who  enliven  our  moonlight  nights,  with  the  guitar 
and  flute.  Their  good  behavior  is  of  general  comment, 
and  they  are  welcome  to  our  pen. 


166  SCKAPS  FKOM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


AN  INCIDENT  CONCERNING  THE  5  COMMERCIAL  INTERESTS  OF  THE 
SOUTH.—  THE  ZOUAVE  DETACHMENT  OF  JOHNSON'S  ISLAND.—  MILI 
TARY  LOG-ROLLING,  AND  SOME  POLITICAL  INCIDENTS.—  VANITY 
OF  THE  AUTHOR.—  «•  ALL  IS  VANITY."—  HON.  JAMES  B.  JONES,  DOU 
GLAS,  AND  OTHERS.-WHAT  I  SAW  AND  HEARD  IN  PABIS. 


from  New  York  to  Brooklyn,  some  years 
\J  ago,  I  met  with  one  of  those  incidents,  that  often 
occur  to  travelers,  and  b  y  which  they  are  taught  to  see 
the  necessity,  for  always  being  on  the  look-out  for  swin 
dlers.  The  incident,  however,  to  which  I  allude,  was  one 
of  much  service  to  .me,  and  by  which  I  acquired  more 
information,  at  less  expense,  than  is  usually  the  fortune 
with  susceptible  gentlemen,  who  too  frequently  travel  with 
more  money  than  brains,  and  who  are  generally  genial 
and  familiar,  not  realizing  that  familiarity  with  superiors 
is  indiscreet,  with  inferiors  to  suffer  an  indignity,  and  it 
is  a  difficult  matter,  to  select  your  equals  in  a  jostling, 
moving  crowd.  I  had  reached  the  middle  of  the  ferry, 
when  a  venerable  looking  gentleman,  encased  in  a  seedy 
suit  of  black,  with  white  cravat,  and  a  portfolio  under  his 
arm,  accosted  me,  in  a  bland,  persuasive  manner  : 

"  Lovely  day,  sir." 

"  Yes." 

"  Ah,  from  the  South." 

"  Yes,  sir.     Why  do  you  think  so  ?" 

"  You  speak  broader  than  we  do,  sir.  I  hope,  sir,  you 
will  excuse  this  intrusion,  but  knowing  the  literary  taste 
of  the  South,  I  always  endeavor  to  make  my  largest  list 
of  subscribers  represent  that  section,  which  we  of  the 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        167 

North,  who  are  debarred  its  enchanting  domain,  look  upon 
as 'the  promised  land." 

"  You  are  complimentary,  sir." 

"  Ah,  no ;  the  South  is  the  future  base  of  operations, 
for  this  progressive  continent.  She  has  an  area  of  terri 
tory,  less  some  few  hundred  miles,  equal  to  our  own.  Look 
at  Texas,  six  times  larger  than  the  State  you  are  now  in. 
Can  you  imagine  the  future  of  such  a  territorial  power  ? 
Give  her  the  ratio  of  population  to  the  square  mile,  that 
we  find  in  Belgium,  four  hundred,  and  wiiat  an  empire 
you  make  of  the  '  lone  star  State.'  Of  the  three  thou 
sand  millions  of  production,  forty-five  per  cent,  is  South 
ern,  sixty  per  cent,  of  the  exports  of  the  country  are  from 
the  same  source.  The  importations  of  the  country,  a  great 
part  of  wrhich  is  for  Southern  consumption,  only  ten  per 
cent,  of  it  is  introduced  through  Southern  ports.  We  in  the 
North  have  everything  in  our  own  hands.  We  import  for 
you,  and  export  for  you,  make  your  wardrobe  and  your  toi 
let,  which  should  impress  you  with  the  fact,  that  producing 
regions  are  always  in  a  state  of  vassalage  to  their  trading 
neighbors,  of  amanufacturing,  shipping,  and  mechanical 
interest  North,  as  is  exhibited  in  revolutionary  Mexico, 
the  West  Indies,  and  Brazil.  And  it  seems  strange,  that 
with  so  complete  a  theory,  as  when  you  bring  the  pro 
ducer  and  consumer  together,  you  realize  the  last,  which 
is  the  greatest  price,  to  the  former,  the  latter  obtaining 
his  supplies  at  the  first,  which  is  the  least  price,  that  your 
section  will  not  endeavor  to  establish  a  commercial  chain, 
uniting  you  to  the  continent  of  Europe.  You  have  had 
the  political  influence  of  Congress,  of  the  Cabinet,  and  of 
foreign  representation,  and  you  have  accomplished  noth 
ing,  and  why  ?  because,  while  you  have  had  power,  you 
have  not  preserved  its  balance,  which  is  trade,  which  re 
solves  into  interest,  and  ultimately  into  a  balance  of  politi 
cal  power.  The  sails  of  England  dot  every  collection  of 
\vater  between  the  poles.  Her  commercial  drum  follows 
the  sun.  Look  at  her  efforts  in  our  own  country,  granting 
subsidies  to  steamship  lines,  for  trade  purposes,  one  item, 
in  particular,  of  eight  thousand  dollars  per  trip,  to  the 
Montreal  and  Liverpool  line  of  steamers.  The  legislation 


168  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

of  the  English  government,  is  identical  with  the  commer 
cial  prosperity  of  the  country,  the  Strength  of  her  mo 
narchy,  the  wisdom  of  her  aristocracy,  are  united  with  her 
honest  democracy,  on  trade  questions,  if  no  other.  She 
has  profited  by  the  experience  of  the  '  Hanseatic  League,' 
and  other  past  lights  of  the  commercial  world,  and  is  now 
reaping  the  benefits,  derived  from  a  proper  consideration 
of  this  powerful  element,  in  a  nation's  prosperity. 

"  In  1820,  we  inaugurated  a  system  of  manufacturing, 
that  has  grown  to  a  consumption  of  nearly  a  million  bales 
of  cotton,  thus  driving  out  the  English  supply  of  heavy 
cottons.  Our 'Globe,'  'Dunnel,'  '  Sprague,'  'Merrimac/ 
and  other  prints,  compete  successfully  with  those  of  Great 
Britain.  John  Bull  is  aware  of  our  competing  progress, 
and  trembles  for  his  prestige  on  this  continent. 

"England  is  a  great  power,  and  must  be  watched,  as  the 
influences  of  Exeter  Hall  lights,  that  shine  in  the  befogged 
atmosphere  of  London,  will  spare  no  means  to  accomplish 
the  object  she  has  in  view.  She  has  no  attachment  for 
America,  her  sympathies  are  with  the  North,  through 
commercial  alliances,  and  she  will  sacrifice  all,  North 
and  South,  to  benefit  her  trade.  Proving  to  us,  as  she  has 
to  the  rest  of  the  world,  that  she  is  the  commercial 
Jesuit  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Let  us*  see  what  this 
most  Christian  nation,  "so  called,"  has  done  to  attempt 
the  destruction  of  our  country,  she  emancipated  the 
slaves  in  the  West  Indies,  not  from  the  mere  considera 
tions,  but  for  the  effect  it  would  have  upon  the  institution 
in  this  country,  iii  attracting  the  masses  of  Europe  to  a 
contemplation  of  the  subject.  Finding  that  this  process  was 
too  slow,  she  attempted  the  destruction  of  our  cotton  in 
terests,  by  introducing  its  cultivation  in  the  East  Indies, 
hoping  that  cheap  labor  would  equalize  uncertain  crops 
and  defective  stable,  and  by  underselling  dethrone  King 
Cotton  in  America,  in  all  of  which  she  has  signally  failed. 
I  have  the  proof  that  every  pound  of  cotton,  raised  in  the 
East  Indies,  from  1840  to  1850,  cost  the  British  Govern 
ment  one  guinea  per  pound,  yet  she  continues  her  efforts, 
and  from  the  year  1800  to  the  present  time,  no  half  dozen 
successive,  regular  crops,  have  been  produced  in  the  East 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        169 

Indies.  One  season  35,000,000  pounds,  another  80,000,000 
pounds,  another  240,000,000  pounds,  then  back  to  120.- 
000,000  pounds,  then  again  up  to  400,000,000  pounds, 
until  at  last  she  has  attained  1,500,000,000  or  2,000,- 
000,000  pounds,  (these  figures  are  approximating  ones.) 
With  such  an  irregular  production,  it  is  impossible!' or  her 
spinners  to  anticipate  orders,  and  they  must  wait  until 
the  crop  of  the  Indies  is  ascertained,  and  hence  mnst  look 
to  the  South  for  their  regular  supply.  All  political  econ 
omists  know  that  the  cotton  area  is  within  parallel,  30 
and  35  degrees,  is  a  belt  2,000  miles  long  and  2<  0  aiiles 
wide,  extending  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and  out 
of  these-  limits  cotton  can  not  be  raised  in  perfection. 
Indian,  African,  and  Brazilian  efforts  will  prove  fruitless, 
and  the  whole  world  must  ultimately  look  to  the  South 
for  its  supply  of  cotton.  It  may  seem  strange  at  first 
glance  that  cotton  is  so  local  in  its  attachments,  but  the 
same  rule,  it  will  be  found,  will  apply  to  all  valuable  pro 
ducts.  Tea  comes  from  China,  the  best  coffee  from 
Java,  Mocha,  and  Rio,  the  best  wines  from  France,  a 
peculiar  kind  from  Madeira,  Holland  for  gin,  England  for 
beer,  Brazil  for  diamonds,  Mexico  for  silver,  California 
for  gold,  each  in  their  places,  have  their  own  specialities 
of  production  and  manufacture,  convincing  us  that  it  is 
the  object  of  creation,  that  all  shall  be  dependent,  yet 
harmonious,  and  that  the  demand  of  one  shall  be  answered 
by  a  supply  from  the  other.  We  see  it  in  our  own  coun 
try,  certain  States  produce  cotton,  Louisiana  produces 
sugar,  South  Carolina  produces  rice,  and  Virginia  pro 
duces  tobacco.  It  is  strictly  a  law  of  nature  that  makes 
man  a  dependant,  either  as  an  individual,  or  in  a  national 
sense,  and  this  dependence  is  most  palpable,  when  affected 
by  the  laws  of  trade  which  are  as  fixed  as  those  of  the 
"  Medes  and  Persians."  Cotton  is  not  King,  but  trade  is, 
and  until  the  South  takes  the  commercial  interest  of  her 
people  more  to  heart,  ceases  to  think  of  political  pro 
gression  and  the  self-aggrandizement  of  leaders,  she  will 
never  compete  with  the  North,  who  have  the  numerical 
strength,  and  balance  of  trade,  which  you  now  understand 
is  the  balance  of  power,  and  if  the  South  does  succeed  in 
12 


170  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

breaking  the  chain,  that  now  binds  her,  she  will  be  merely 
transferred  to  another  state  of  vassa^ige,  having  her  com 
mercial  shackles  forged  by  the  hands  of  France  and  Eng 
land.  The  South  can  only  escape  these  dangers,  by  wise 
and  prompt  commercial  legislation.  Am  I  right,  sir  ?" 

I  answered,  "Yes,  to  a  certain  degree,"  somewhat  im 
pressed  with  the  old  gentleman's  reasoning,  but  the  South 
has  ever  looked  to  New  York  city,  as  the  "Mecca"  of  her 
merchants,  Saratoga  and  Cape  May,  have  been  her  "  Spa," 
and  "  Baden  Baden,"  and  so  potent  are  these  influences  when 
exerted  on  our  people,  that  should  a  war  break  out  be 
tween  the  sections  to-morrow,  and  continue  five  years,  one 
year  after  its  cessation  southern  merchants  would  buy  dry 
goods  in  New  York  or  Philadelphia,  brt)gans  in  Boston, 
soap,  whiskey  and  candles  in  Cincinnati,*  all  owing  to 
the  capital  of  the  North,  which  enables  them  to  grant 
long  credits.  The  planter  makes  a  good  crop,  his  surplus 
is  invested  in  Negroes,  the  northern  man  places  his  profits 
in  trade,  and  holds  the  lever,  by  which  he  moves  the  com 
mercial  interests  of  the  country,  to  his  own  enriching. 
The  south  is  not  energetic  enough,  she  is  too  much  afraid 
of  stocks  and  improvements,  and  does  not  seem  to  study 
political  econemy  as  faithfully  as  she  does  political  histo 
ries,  however,  better  days  may  come,  when  the  South, 
true  to  herself,  she  will  arise  from  her  lethargic  state,  and 
•occupy  the  true  position  nature  has  intended  her,  that  of 
an  independent  producing  region,  and  if  dependent,  it  is  from 
choice,  not  from  necessity.  At  this  point  in  the  conversa 
tion  we  neared  the  wharf,  when  the  old  gentleman  re 
newed  his  original  subject,  informing  me  he  had  expended, 
and  the  greater  portion  of  his  life,  in  compiling  the  work 
aforesaid,  that  he  was  so  zealous  in  distributing,  and  he 
felt  confident,  that  from  his  past  success,  he  would  meet 
with  sufficient  patronage  in  the  future,  to  justify  his  efforts, 

He  referred  me  to  his  list  of  subscribers,  in  which 
figured  foreigners  of  distinction,  senators,  and  diplomats, 
and  hoped  to  have  the  pleasure  of  adding  my  name  to  the 


*  The  war  is  over,  and  the  author's  prediction  is  verified.  "  They  "  do  bny 
soap,  whiskey,  and  candles,  in  Cincinnati.  The  laws  of  trade  are  among  the 
most  immutable  of  all  material  matters. 


SCKAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        171 

list.  I  responded,  by  ordering  two  copies,  which  seemed  to 
please  my  venerable  book-agent,  who  remarked,  as  we 
stepped  upon  the  shore,  with  a  smile,  that  seemed  to  indi 
cate  an  innate  virtue  in  the  man,  "  Shall  I  mark  you  paid 
in  advance."  I  was  dumbfounded,  and  could  not  avoid 
the  not  classical  answer,  "  nary  time,"  and  we  both  dis 
appeared  in  the  crowd.  Suppose  he  tried  one  hundred 
persons  a  day,  and  met  with  one  success,  it  was  ample 
remuneration,  as  the  subscription  price  to  this  mythical 
work  was  five  dollars.  He  taught  me  much  in  relation  to 
the  duties  of  the  South,  and,  I  think,  he  deserved  the  five, 
although  his  object  was  to  swindle  me. 

The  Zouave  squad,  at  Johnson's  island,  was  composed 
of  six  of  the  most  chivalric  denizens  of  that  lovely  isle. 
It  was  the  intention  of  the  gentlemen,  comprising  the 
nucleus  of  this  formitable  coalition,  to  have  organized  a 
corps,  rivalling  Billy  Wilson's  " Roughs"  or  Ellsworth's 
"  pets"  in  drill,  but  circumstances  have  altered  the  pro 
gramme.  As  comparisons  are  odious,  I  will  not  accord  to 
any  individual,  the  distinguished  honor  of  fathering  this 
organization,  but  merely  give  the  names  of  the  members, 
as  I  found  them.  M.  Burke,*  (spoken  of  in  another 
"scrap,")  whose  war-cry  was  "  Faugh,  a  ballah."  Lieu 
tenant  John  Morton,f  of  artillery.  Lieutenant  Morton  is 


*  M.  Burke,  the  last  I  saw  of  him  was  on  the  deck  of  a  Mississippi  steamer, 
amusing  himself  in  assisting  to  "  wood." 

f  Captain  John  W.  Morton,  from  his  release  to  the  close  of  the  war,  per 
formed  the  part  of  a  gallant  soldier.  Modest,  unassuming,  and  courageous, 
he  was  the  most  perfect  specimen  of  the  soldier  and  gentleman,  the  war  pro 
duced.  The  following  letter,  from  one  who  knew  him  well,  is  attached  to 
show,  that  "  Bedford  Forrest  never  mistook  his  man  : 

"HEAD-QUARTERS,  MILITARY  DEPARTMENT  FORREST'S  CAVALRY  CORPS,! 
"  GAINSVILLE,  ALABAMA,  May  10,  1863.     ) 

"DEAR  SIR  : — It  affords  me  pleasure,  to  report  the  following  to  you  of  the 
conduct  of  your  son,  Captain  John  W.  Morton,  Jr. 

"  He  was  ordered  to  report  to  me  for  duty  by  General  Bragg,  to  take  charge 
of  my  Horse  Artillery,  in  November,  1862.  His  appearance  was  so  youthful, 
and  form  so  frail,  (wishing  stout,  active  men  for  my  service,)  I  at  first  hesi 
tated  to  receive  him,  but  coming  so  well  recommended  by  Colonel  Hollen- 
quert,  General  Bragg's  chief  of  artillery ;  Major  Graves,  General  Breckenridge's 
chief  of  artillery,  and  others,  I  concluded  to  try  him ;  having  learned  he  was 
first  lieutenant  of  'Porter's'  famous  Tennessee  battery,  which  surrendered 
at  Fort  Donaldson,  February  16th,  1862  ;  was  highly  complimented  by  General 
Buckner  in  his  official  report,  and  received  from  General  Buckner  the  high 
appallation  of  '  gallant  Lieutenant  Morton,  our  heartless  boy.' 

"  I  gave  him  command  of  a  section  of  artillery,  and  moved  with  my  first 
raid  into  West  Tennessee,  in  December,  1862,  and  soon  captured  ofher  guns, 


172  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

from  Nashville,  Tennessee,  son  of  Dr.  Morton,  a  most  dis 
tinguished  physicians  of  that  city.  He  is  one  of  the  most 
perfect  gentlemen  in  prison,  the  soul  of  honor,  and  one  of 
the  most  promising  officers  in  the  army.  The  Zouaves  sup 
posed  that  "Johnny  Morton"  would  make  a  good  member. 
Sanders  Sale  is  also  of  the  artillery,  was  wounded  at 
Donaldson,  is  a  brave  soldier,  and  of  a  character  to  make 
friends  and  enemies.  Captain  A.  S.  Levy  is  a  South 
Carolinian,  whose  character  is  given  in  another  "  scrap ;" 
Captain  Farabee,  who  is  also  mentioned  in  another 
"  scrap."  The  above  gallant  gentlemen,  with  the  author, 
formed  the  Zouave  squad. 

We  began  our  first  offensive  operations,  on  the  night 
of  the  27th  of  May,  1862.  The  night  was  happily  adapted 
to  our  peculiar  performance,  the  rain  poured,  the  darkness 
was  profound  and  impenetrable.  Our  uniform  and  out-lit 
was  characteristic  of  the  night's  movements :  three  coats,  to 
keep  us  dry ;  crackers,  to  appease  the  stomach's  cravings ; 
a  hatchet,  to  keep  off  "  cerulean  apparitions,"  that  might 
confront  us  ;  and  with  a  saw,  rope,  and  a  bottle  of  cognac, 
to  fortify  with,  we  moved  to  the  front.  But,  to  be  serious, 
our  little  party  of  six  were  in  prison,  and  anxious  to  escape. 
We  had  prepared  to  saw  out,  and  had,  as  we  supposed, 
arranged  things  to  perfection.  Our  programme  was,  as 
follows  :  Burke  took  the  lead,  with  the  saw,  having  us  in 
communication,  by  a  rope,  which  lie  was  to  pull,  as  soon 
as  the  sawing  was  completed.  The  cause  of  our  being 
called  Zou-zou's,  is  attributed  to  John  Morton,  who,  on 
being  instructed  by  his  uncle,  Lieutenant  Banks,  (a  highly 

and  placed  him  in  command  of  the  battery ;  and  during  this  expedition,  the 
gallant  and  efficient  manner  in  which  he  handled  his  guns,  won  my  confidence 
and  esteem.  He  has  been  constantly  with  me  since,  in  all  my  engagements, 
never  absent  from  his  post  of  duty,  apparently  happier  when  in  the  thickest 
of  the  fight.  He  has  held  with  'great  credit,  for  twelve  months  past,  the 
position  of  chief  of  artillery  of  my  corps.  By  his  soldierly  bearing,  generous 
disposition,  affable  manners,  strict  attention  to  duty  and  the  welfare  of  his 
men,  uniform  and  true  gallantry  on  so  many  fields,  has  made  him  many 
friends,  and  you  may  justly  be  proud  of  such  a  son.  He  was  with  the  troops 
of  this  department,  surrendered  his  'old'  battery,  one  of  the  best  equipped 
and  finest  in  the  service. 

"I  deeply  sympathize  with  him,  and  wish  him  much  success  and  happiness 
in  any  vocation  in  after  liie. 

"  Yours,  most  respectfully, 

"N.  B.  FORREST,  Lieutenant  Gener.)!. 

"Dr.  JOHN  W.  MORTON." 


SCKAPS  FKOM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        173 

esteemed  officer,  and  whose  absense  from  the  army  will 
be  sensibly  felt,)  replied,  "  Never  mind  me,  I'm  a  Zou-zou, 
and  aufait  on  scaling,  climbing,  or  leaping."  In  proof  of 
which,  the  enthusiastic  Zouave  commenced  sprawling, 
squatting,  finishing  volite  a  la  Mobile.  The  writer,  with 
a  hatchet,  was  to  exercise  in  the  "  parries,"  in  prime,  in 
second,  in  right,  high  prime,  and  left  ditto,  thrust,  lunge, 
and  etc.  But  again  to  facts.  We  crawled  one  hundred 
and  fifty  yards,  through  the  wet  grass,  in  a  drenching 
rain.  We  crawled  breathlessly,  as  the  sentinels  were 
ordered  to  fire  on  any  one  seen  out  after  retreat.  Never 
theless — "faint  heart  never  won  fair  lady,"  much  less 
escaped  a  prison's  bounds — we  moved  on,  dreading  our 
attack  on  the  fence,  that  loomed  up  in  our  front,  a  regular 
"buncombe"  one,  ("bull  strong,  horse  high,  and  pig 
tight,")  and  felt,  "  we  fain  would  climb,  yet  fear  to  fall," 
and  as  it  was  high  and  studded  with  nails,  the  feat  of 
gaining  the  crest  might  entail  the  loss  of  our  nether  gar 
ments,  and  remembering  the  advice  of  Elizabeth,  "  if  thy 
heart  fails  thee,  climb  not  at  all,"  and  being  afraid  of 
slips,  as  the  boy  at  marbles  says,  when  he  misses  the  big 
middler,  concluded  to  call  a  halt,  rallying  on  Sale,  who 
was  secure  behind  his  fortification  of  "  Martel's  best," 
half  of  which  had  been  demolished  during  the  attack. 
The  night  was  intensely  dark,  but  our  wily  captors  had 
placed  reflectors  on  either  wall  of  the  prison,  whose  rays 
converged,  forming  an  unbroken  line  of  light,  and  we  felt 
that  to  cross  it  would  be  worse  than  the  Rubicon,  and 
instead  of  the  Pontine  marshes,  swamping  us,  we  would 
have  been  inevitably  swamped.  The  grass  was  high,  and 
wet,  and  we  were  becoming  quite  uncomfortable,  having 
lain  in  the  grass  three  hours,  awaiting  a  favorable  opportu 
nity  to  cross  the  line  of  light,  when  a  snakish  form  wrig 
gles  through  the  grass,  and  the  pate  of  Captain  Farabee 
glistens  in  the  rays  of  the  two  converging  reflectors. 
"  Hush,  the  sentinel  sees  us."  "  The  devil  he  does ;  what 
shall  we  do  ?"  "  What  do  you  say  ?"  "  I  am  willing  to 
do  as  they  say."  "  Don't  tell  me  what  'they  say]  (Aaron 
Burr.)  You  are  in  the  lead,  you  say  advance,  advance  it 
is  ;  retreat,  we'll  follow."  "  Then  leap  to  the  rear," 


174  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

which  we  respond  to,  by  a  right,  rear,  vault,  at  a  u  2.40  " 
speed,  reaching  our  quarters,  soakecl  to  the  skin.  Our 
expedition  was  a  failure  ;  the  writer  being  accused  of 
having  gotten  the  affair  up,  for  a  sensational  article.  The 
night  was  one  to  invoke  the  pen  or  pencil  of  an  artist. 
The  wind  howled,  the  lake-waves  lashing  the  shore  with 
fury,  the  lone  lights  from  the  light-houses,  flitting  like 
spectres,  athwart  the  dark  interval,  the  white  breakers 
rushing  madly  upon  the  reef,  the  noiseless  figures  in  the 
grass,  the  solitary  sentinel  in  our  front,  the  quick  tread  of 
the  officer  of  the  day,  as  he  made  his  round,  all  combined 
to  make  it  a  worthy  subject  for  record  or  canvas. 

The  next  day,  we  were  all  sore,  and  suffering  from  bad 
colds,  excepting  Sale,  who  had  so  well  fortified  himself, 
that  he  seemed  exempt  from  all  external  impressions. 
The  signal  failure  of  the  Zouave  squad,  has  shown  us  the 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  making  an  escape,  and  we  have 
concluded,  to  wait  for  the  development  of  other  means, 
that  may  tend  to  deliver  us  from  bondage,  and  rehabili 
tate  us,  and  then,  in  the  exercise  of  those  inalienable 
rights  of  an  American  citizen — trial  by  jury,  and  habeas 
corpus — we  may  again  breathe  the  pure  air  of  Heaven 
without  these  prison  walls,  and  feel  that  all  the  crimes 
are  not  committed  in  the  name  of  Liberty. 

The  real  cause  of  the  failure  of  our  many  attempts  to 
escape,  is  owing  to  the  system  of  espionage  within  the 
prison,  and  that  our  custodians  without  were  fully  posted 
as  to  our  movements  within. 

It  is  ten  months,  this  the  22d  day  of  May,  1862,  since 
I  entered  the  army,  and  became  acquainted  with,  and 
was  initiated  into,  the  military  system  of  log-rolling  and 
wire-working,  from  the  start.  The  thirst  for  office  was 
as  inordinate  in  military  circles,  as  in  the  tamer  atmos 
phere  of  politics.  The  organization  of  regiments  was  in 
this  wise:  A,  who  has  been  in  Congress,  or  who  has 
held  official  position,  obtains  permission  to  raise  a  regi 
ment,  promises  B  a  lieutenant-colonency,  if  lie  can 
control  four  companies;  another,  captain,  a  majority,  for 
three  companies;  furnishing  three  other  unambitious 
captains,  with  the  compliments  of  supplying  his  staft 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        175 

department,  from  their  companies,  all  of  which  generally 
culminates,  in  the  command  being  dissatisfied,  with  the 
officers  thus  log-rolled  upon  them  ;  however,  A  is  excus 
able,,  as  all  men  are,  more  or  less,  ambitious.  I 
remember  my  friend  General  Leslie  Coombs,  who  is  a 
brave  and  generous  man,  but  has  some  vanity,  and  is  a 
little  ambitious  himself;  he  it  was  who  told  John  C. 
Breckinridge,  "I  have  done  more  for  my  party,  and 
received  less,  and  you  have  done  less  and  received  more, 
than  any  two  men  alive. "  The  General  and  myself  Were 
promenading  Chestnut  street,  in  the  Quaker  city,  some 
years  since,  we  stopped  at  Jones',  a  famous  hotel  at  that 
time,  to  take  a  smile  of  "old  wheat,"  a  beverage  for 
which  this  caterer  was  celebrated.  After  testing  the 
article,  the  General  became  communicative,  and  gave 
me  to  understand,  that  the  failure  of  the  conservative 
ticket,  at  Baltimore,  was  owing  to  the  absence  of  his 
name  from  the  ticket.  I  think  his  ticket  was  Sam. 
Houston,  of  Texas,  and  Leslie  Coombs,  of  Kentucky. 
This  was  all  the  result  of  ambition  and  vanity,  yet  there 
are  few  men  who  occupy  a  higher  niche  in  the  hearts  of 
their  friends,  than  this  venerable  soldier  and  politician  of 
Kentucky.  Associating  with  such  men  as  him,  Brown- 
low,  that  political  Barnum  of  the  South,  and  in  sitting 
in  the  same  pew  at  Baltimore,  with  that  nondescript, 
Horace  Maynard,  of  Tennessee,  I  possibly  have  become 
inoculated  with  that  disease— ambition. 

Andrew  Jackson  Donaldson*  was  another  one  of  my 
political  friends.  I  introduced  the  major  once,  to  an  old 
friend  of  mine,  from  New  Hampshire,  who  had  read  law 
with,  and  been  an  intimate  friend  of,  Franklin  Pierce. 

"  How  do  you  do  ?"  says  the  major,  "  From  New 
Hampshire,  the  same  State  that  d — d  rascal  Franklin 
Pierce  is  from  ?" 

"I  beg  pardon,  Major  Donaldson,  I  know  Franklin 
Pierce  well,  read  law  with  him,  and  am  assured  he  is  an 
honest  man." 

"  Well,  Mr.  Merriam,  I  may  have  been  abrupt.     I  can't 

*  Major  Donaldson  is  planting  in  Mississippi ;  Merriam  practicing  law  in 
Chicago,  Illinois. 


176  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

swear  that  he  ever  stole  anything,  but  you  must  admit 
that  he  was  a  d — d  fool." 

"  No,  no,  sir,"  exclaimed  our  friend,  "  I  esteem  Mr. 
Pierce  as  a  man  of  mind." 

At  this  juncture,  several  friends  coining  up,  the  conver 
sation  closed. 

The  major  told  me,  the  next  day,  over  some  "  anti- 
Buchanan  spirits,"  as  he  termed  them  ;  "  I  was  rather 
severe  on  your  friend  yesterday.  Say  to  him,  that  I 
didn't  wish  to  hurt  his  feelings  ;  but  I  can't  withold  t«he 
expression  of  my  detestation  of  Pierce."  I  felt  sorry  for 
Merriam,  as  he  was  one  of  the  few  Yankees,  in  the  many 
I  have  met,  who  could  pronounce  C.  O.  W.  as  we  spell  it. 
Franklin  Pierce  had  his  faults,  but  was  one  of  the  most 
consistent  politicians  the  country  has  produced:  It  is 
said,  that  while  a  member  of  Congress,  at  Washington, 
he  and  a  friend  were  returning  to  their  hotel,  in  the  "  wee 
sma"  hours  of  the  morning,  when  an  unlucky  trip  sent 
his  friend  into  the  ditch,  "  who  exclaimed,  "  Frank,  help 
me  out !"  "I  can't  do  that,"  says  the  generous  and  gal 
lant  Pierce,  "  but  I'll  come  down  and  stay  all  night  with 
you."  After  his  elevation  to  the  Presidency,  among  a 
series  of  entertainments  was  a  private  dinner,  given  to  a 
score  of  personal  and  political  friends,  to  which  his  old 
companion  in  arms  in  Mexico,  Jere  Clemens,*  was  one 
of  the  most  distinguished  guests.  A  few  hours,  previous 
to  dinner,  Clemens  and  Pierce  were  closeted.  They  had 
not  met  since  a  certain  convivial  night  In  the  halls  of  the 
Montezumas,  and  for  several  hours  "  fought  their  battles 
over  again,"  over  porter.  This  being  too  weak,  a  little 
cognac  was  added.  Six  P.  M.  approached,  the  dinner 
hour,  still  no  abatement,  and  the  guests  were  waiting, 
the  President  summoned  his  private  secretary,  Sydney 
Webster,  excusing  himself  on  the  plea  of  illness.  He 
requested  Mr.  Webster  to  assume  his  place,  at  the  table. 
I  asked  Clemens,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  this  incident, 
how  he  came  to  be  senator  from  Alabama.  "Plain 
enough.  I  was  in  Mexico,  colonel  of  infantry  fifteen 

*  Jere  Clemens,  deceased. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE        177 

months,  and  on  my  return,  my  friends  found  I  was  fit  for 
nothing  else,  and  sent  me  to  the  United  States  Senate." 
But,  to  return  to  my  being  mustered  in.  I  had  seen 
so  much  of  the  above  doings,  that  I  thought  my  experi 
ence — with  a  flesh  wound — would  give  me  promotion, 
but  have  been  cut  out,  and  lost  my  reckoning,  by  being 
taken  prisoner,  and  while  here,  have  discovered,  that 
ambition  is  a  great  humbug,  and  like  the  boy  with  the 
alphabet  question,  "  whether  it's  worth  while  to  go  through 
so  much,  to  learn  so  little."  A  man,  to  rise  above  the 
mass,  or  to  retain  marked  individuality,  must  be  a  giant 
in  some  world,  moral,  physical,  or  intellectual ;  must  be 
saint,  or  sinner  ;  Bonaparte,  Csesar,  or  Wellington ;  Cal 
vin  or  Voltaire  ;  Hippocrates,  or  Valentine  Mott.  And 
these  men  ventured  health,  life,  limb,  time,  fortune,  and 
their  soul's  salvation,  to  reach  the  eminence  that  made  them 
great.  There  are  but  few  men  who  are  remembered, 
even  by  their  grandchildren  ;  and  I  will  venture  to  state, 
that  those  of  my  readers  who  know  theirs,  are  in  the 
minority.  The  discovery  of  mine  has  been  a  matter  of 
research.  Step  into  a  grandchild's  room,  twenty-five 
years  hence,  and  ask,  whose  portrait  is  that  on  the  wall  V 
"  That's  my  grandfather  ;  mother  says  he  fought  in  the 
Revolution  of  1861,  and  wras  killed  at  the  battle  of  Shiloh." 
Ten  years  afterwards,  the  same  portrait  may  be  in  the 
garret,  to  make  room  for  a  modern  styled  one,  of  a  new 
member  of  the  family ;  and  even  you,  my  reader,  if  an 
officer  or  soldier,  may  be  killed,  and  if  so,  let  your  ghost 
visit  that  little  cottage  a  few  years  after  your  demise,  and 
in  the  hall,  upon  the  rack,  that  once  held  your  tile,  you 
will  discover  another  chap's  hat,  stick  and  umbrella,  it 
being  possible,  that  your  wife  has  consoled  herself  with 
number  two.  The  reflection  is  not  an  agreeable  one,  but 
natural;  for  what  a  widow  can't  accomplish,  is  not 
worth  striving  for.  "That's  so,"  and  "bevare  of  them," 
says  old  Weller;  another  argument,  (the  above,)  against 
seeking  the  "bubble  reputation  at  the  cannon's  mouth." 
As  for  myself,  I  am  satisfied,  and  have  arrived  at  the 
conclusion,  "I  had  rather  be  a  live  jackass,  than  a  dead 
lion.'"  Therefore,  I  feel  that  my  imprisonment  is  of 


178  SCRAPS  PROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

real  benefit,  for  while  it  has  brought  time  for  reflection, 
it  has  also  enabled  me  to  discriminate,  what  was  worthy 
in  the  past,  and  what  should  be  left  to  the  gullibility  of 
the  present.  I  shall,  in  future,  try  and  be  politically 
honest,  and  retire  from  the  scenes  of  this  busy,  pseudo, 
political,  whiskey -headed,  card-playing,  theatre-going, 
late-supper-eating,  humbuging,  outer  world,  that  is,  when 
I  get  out,  if  I'm  not  corrupted  from  within.  Well,  you 
may  say,  "that's  vanity,"  so  say  I,  so  says  the  preacher, 
'all  is  vanity." 

Speaking  of  vanity,  reminds  the  author  of  some  little 
of  his  own.  In  1850,  while  James  C.  Jones*  was  using 
his  efforts  to  have  the  Memphis  and  Charlestown  rail 
road  built,  aided  by  James  Kobb,  of  New  Orleans,  I 
happened  to  meet  him  while  in  that  city,  he  there  for  the 
purpose  of  making  one  of  his  railroad  speeches,  my  os 
tensible  object  in  visiting  the  Crescent  City,  was  to  hear 
the  world-renowned  Jenny  Lind,  the  Swedish  nightingale. 
I  had  listened  to  the  trills  and  cadences  of  Pedrioti  and 
Fanti,  Bishop  Hayes,  Biscacianti,  Cariadora,  Allen, 
Parodi,  and  a  number  of  others,  and  having  a  passion  for 
song,  traveled  twelve  hundred  miles  to  hear  "  Lind."  I 
can  never  forget  my  feelings  of  satisfaction,  after  having 
breakfasted  at  Moreau's,  lunched  at  Bonifan's,-  dined  at 
Victor's,  quaffed  little  potions  at  Sazerac  and  the  Gem, 
and  then  having  been  tonsorially  prepared  by  Rollins,  I 
stepped  into  the  lobby  of  the  St.  Charles  theatre,  the 
scene  of  many  a  star's  triumph,  before  the  exquisite  taste 
of  the  Creoles  of  Louisiana. 

I  soon  found  myself  in  the  "pit,"  which  was  a  jam,  as 
was  all  parts  of  the  building.  I  sat  in  salmon  tie,  unblem 
ished  vest,  and  spotless  kids,  with  an  elegant  opera  glass  in 
rest,  and  felt  that  I  had  the  "world  in  a  sling."  In  gazing 
round  the  dress  circle,  at  the  beauties  of  a  dozen  States, 
who  had  traveled  by  every  conveyance,  thousands  of  miles 
to  pay  homage  to  the  northem  MrdlingJ)  it  suddenly 
flashed  o'er  my  mind,  that  I  was  the  centre  of  attraction, 
and  the  objective  point  of  hundred  leveled  glasses.  I 

*Governor  Jones  died  at  Memphis,  Tennessee. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        179 

eould  not  make  up  my  mind,  whether  it  was  my  good 
looks,  or  style,  as  I  could  not  attribute  it  to  anything 
else,  not  being  old  or  wise  enough,  to  have  figured  in  the 
many  worlds  of  fashion,  science,  politics,  or  religion.  The 
supposed  triumph  was  too  much  for  me,  and  I  retired,  to 
recuperate  with  a  "  brandy  smash,"  after  which  I  resumed 
my  seat,  inflamed  with  self,  puffed  up  with  vanity,  feeling 
like  Alexander,  when  he  had  conquered  his  last  world. 
But  it  was  a  delusive  wand  that  had  touched  me,  the 
enchanting  one  of  vanity,  and  it  turned  my  transparent 
head  around,  where  sat  immediately  in  my  rear,  "  Lean 
Jimmy,"  formerly  governor,  senator,  and  one  of  the 
noblest  men  in  the  South,  the  observed  of  all  observers, 
in  company  with  Colonel  David  Leatherman,*  one  of  the 
handsomest  men  in  the  South  ;  my  feathers  fell  in  a  trice, 
.and  I  have  been  a  modest  man  ever  since.  Speaking  of 
Leatherman,  reminds  me  of  one  of  his  eccentricities.  On 
remarking  he  would  stump  the  State  of  Tennessee,  from 
Shelby  to  Carter,  during  a  late  political  canvass,  he  was 
asked  upon  what  issues.  "  Ah,  that's  the  question,"  says 
the  prudent  politician,  a  non-committal  position  that  he 
still  adheres  to.  All  great  men  are  not  modest,  who 
would  imagine  that  Cobden,  the  great  English  statesman, 
with  white  cravat,  and  eyes  as  meek  as  a  child,  to  be  a 
joker.  Some  time  since,  we  met  Cobden,  in  Paris,  at  one 
of  Charles  J.  Faulkner's  receptions,  at  which  there  were 
the  Persian  ambassadors,  Commodore  Stewart's  widow 
and  son ;  W.  P.  Smith  and  bride,  representing  the  elite 
of  Philadelphia ;  the  Emory's,  of  Cincinnati,  a  charming 
family;  Miss  Preston,  of  Kentucky,  forming  with  Miss 
Goodrich,  of  New  Orleans,  a  galaxy  of  fashion  and  beauty, 
unequalled  in  any  of  the  salons  of  Europe.  C.  J.  Faulk 
ner  was  a  Virginian  of  the  old  school,  and  knew  how  to 
make  "  apple  toddy,"  to  which  I  paid  my  devoirs,  assisted 
by  Judge  McKinstry,  of  California,  and  Major  Brownlee, 
St.  Louis,  since  dead,  "peace  to  his  ashes."  He  be 
came  a  sympathizer  with  the  South,  was  banished  St. 
Louis  under  a  vandal  order,  with  only  four  days'  notice. 

*  Leatherman  is,  as  usual,  anticipating  a  happy  political  future,  yet  a  most 
companionable  gentleman. 


180         SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

This  great  grief,  added  to  a  feeble  constitution,  killed  one 
of  the  best  men  that  ever  adorned  the  commercial  circles 
of  that  city.  While  the  "  toddies  "  were  flowing,  I  was 
introduced  to  Mr.  Cobden,  who  was  "  pleased  to  know 
that  I  was  from  the  West." 

"  You  Western  people  are  wild  speculators,  your  whole 
system  of  hypothecation  on  land  is  dangerous,  you  have 
invested  largely  in  them,  with  credit  as  a  base  of  opera 
tions,  and  your  crops  having  failed  for  several  years,  you 
are  bankrupt,  and  in  fact,"  says  this  model  of  the  stoical 
Englishman,  this  mild  and  urbane  Briton,  "you  remind 
me  very  much  of  a  gentleman  caught  out,  without  his 
unmentionables." 

I  was  astonished,  and  felt  conscious  that  all  men  are 
fond  of  quaint  expressions,  but  this  quaint  expression  is 
like  much  of  our  modern  prose  and  poetry,  borrowed. 

By  referring  to  the  files  of  old  newspapers,  or  the 
original  works  of  original  authors,  you  will  be  reminded 
of  the  resemblance  between  the  literary  treats  of  the 
present  and  of  the  past,  changed,  and  garbled,  so  that 
the  originators  would  not  know  the  sermon,  while  they 
created  the  text.  There  is  very  little  that  is  original, 
"except  original  sin,"  and  I  much  prefer  simplicity  and 
some  little  impurity  of  diction,  with  not  so  much  perspi 
cuity,  and  more  originality.  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  was 
an  original  thinker,  and  deep  as  the  ocean  in  his  political 
subtleties,  yet  as  artless  as  a  child,  in  his  impulses.  In  a 
conversation  with  him  once,  at  Washington,  I  remarked, 

4 'Your  Squatter  Sovereignty,  Mr.  Douglas,  has  cast  a 
fire-brand  among  your  Southern  friends." 

"It  was  not  my  intention,  sir,  I  am  for  peace." 

"Yes,"  I  replied,  "you  would  conquer  one." 

At  that  moment  some  one  beckoned  to  him,  from  the 
other  side  of  the  Hall  of  Representatives,  (where,  we  were 
conversing,)  and  excusing  himself,  skipped  off  like  a  boy. 
I  am  not  much  of  a  politician,  but  if  the  much  mooted 
question,  that  brought  Stephen  A.  Douglas  before  the 
country,  was  not  understood  by  the  people,  it  was 
simply  because  they  had  no  confidenc  in  the  judgment  of 
Daniel  Webster,  who  resolved  the  whole  question,  into 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  181 

one  of  soil  and  climate,  showing  that  where  the  soil  was 
susceptible  of  slave  labor,  there  it  would  naturally  go. 
After  leaving  Douglas,  I  was  introduced  to  Roger  A. 
Pryor,  of  Virginia,  now  one  of  our  Generals,  a  polished 
hot-housed  political  plant,  with  much  brilliancy  of  classi 
cal  lore,  and  urbane  deportment,  and  if  restrained, 
opportune  circumstances  may  afford  him  a  chance  to 
properly  employ  his  talents.  The  laudations  of  a  crowd, 
who  barely  understand  his  trophes  and  figures,  and  the 
enthusiasm  of  his  friends  has  nearly  ruined  Pryor.  In 
America,  a  man  is  not  born  with  political  character, 
neither  must  he  seek  it,  rather  let  it  be  thrust  upon  him. 
But  all,  I  repeat,  is  vanity.  I  have  it  in  writing  this  book, 
and  like  Cinna,  I  may  be  injured  by  my  bad  verses,  but 
1  hope  not  badly  kilL 

I  have  amused  my  "mess"  with  an  adventure  in 
London,  nowT  they  claim  another  from  Paris.  In  18 — 
I  found  myself  on  that  splendid  effort  of  the  lamented 
George  Steers,  the  peerless  Adriatic,  en  route  for  France; 
a  parting  tear,  an  embrace,  the  wave  of  handkerchiefs,  a 
few  puffs,  and  we  steam  out,  in  a  few  hours  we  are  off 
Sandy  Hook,  a  few  more,  and  the  wide  expanse  of  water 
encircles  us,  we  cast  one  long,  lingering  glance,  at  the 
trackless  waste  behind,  compress  our  lips,  and  with  a 
sigh,  turn  our  head  to  the  East. 

Sea  voyages  have  been  described  so  often,  that  we  will 
not  bore  our  readers,  with  a  repitition  of  description.  We 
were  sea-sick,  had  good  and  foul  weather,  and  arrived 
safe  at  Southampton,  landed  the  English  mails,  and 
passengers,  then  turned  our  bow-sprit  towards  Havre, 
which  we  reached  after  a  run  of  seven  hours.  We  leave 
Havre  for  Paris,  passing  through  Normandy,  one  of  the 
finest  farming  regions  on  the  earth.  They  have  no 
rugged  fences  to  mar  the  beauty  of  the  landscape,  a 
simple  stone  marks  the  boundaries  of  estates;  vast  masses 
of  foliage,  added  to  the  crimson  of  the  fields  of  dotted 
poppies,  the  richly  laden  cherry  trees,  with  their  spark 
ling  fruit,  peeping  from  the  midst  of  emerald  leaves, 
seem  like  some  old  painting.  Then  the  little  villages, 
that  looked  a  thousand  years  old,  whose  people  appeared 


182  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

as  if  they  had  slept  centuries,  and  had  awakened  to  con 
tinue  their  same  routine  of  daily,  duties,  as  of  yore. 
They  wear  the  same  costumes  as  those  of  their  patriarchal 
ancestry,  but  if  they  retain  the  quaintness  of  the  antique 
past,  in  relation  to  style  and  habit,  they  seem  to  have 
attained  the  perfection  of  economy,  in  its  application  to 
farming.  You  will  not  find  a  rock,  or  stick,  beneath  a 
fruit  tree,  the  smallest  cherry  is  picked  from  its  stem,  and 
carefully  gathered,  without  bruise;  the  limbs  of  fruit 
trees  are  trained  upon  walls  of  houses  and  courts,  thus 
economizing  space;  the  vegetable  is  not  pulled  from  the 
soil,  as  we  would  jerk  up  a  radish,  but  a  sharp  instrument 
is  inserted  in  the  ground  around  each,  so  as  to  loosen  the 
soil,  thus  avoiding  lacerating  the  tender  fibre  of  the  half 
matured  vegetable  attached.  All  is  attention  and  care,  for 
while  labor  is  cheap,  the  laborer  receiving  from  30  to  40, 
and  the  women  from  25  to  30  cents  per  day,  while  land 
rents,  in  some  instances,  as  high  as  sixty  dollars  per  acre; 
the  women  do  the  digging,  and  watering,  the  men  the 
residue.  The  most  remarkable  perfection  is  attained  in 
the  production  of  beets,  some  weighing  as  much  as  eighty 
pounds,  the  sugar  produced  from  them  is  universally 
used  on  the  continent. 

We  leave  Normandy,  with  its  famous  old  towers,  and 
its  beautiful  scenery,  described  by  a  myriad  of  writers  of 
all  kinds  of  fry,  a  majority  of  the  small  fry  order.  There 
fore,  not  wishing  to  be  rated  with  the  latter  class,  we  pass 
on  to  Paris,  where  much  is  to  be  seen.  To  find  Americans, 
you  go  to  the  Grand  Hotel,  the  most  magnificent,  and  the 
worst  kept  in  Paris.  For  elegance  and  comfort,  we  go 
to  the  Grand  Hotel  d'Louvre,  on  the  Rue  Rivoli.  You 
leave  the  hotel,  drive  out  the  Rivoli,  cross  the  Place  du 
la  Concorde,  look  at  the  site  of  the  guillotine,  now  sur 
mounted  by  an  Egyptian  obilisk  of  Luxor,  of  the  time  of 
Seostris,  3,000  years  ago.  You  leave  this  beautiful 
square,  and  continue  out  the  champs  Elysees,  to  the  Bois 
d'Bologne.  Here  you  have  some  of  the  most  magnificent 
works  of  art,  to  be  found  upon  the  globe — lakes,  cascades, 
a  miniature  Niagara,  artificial  banks  of  roses,  which  fasci 
nate  you,  even  to  wearisomeness  ;  and  you  turn  to  gaze  upon 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.         183 

the  brilliant  scene  of  vehicles,  comprising  phoetons,  car 
riages,  voitures  remises,  filled  with  the  beauty  and  fashion 
of  Paris,  from  mi  Lord  and  Lady  to  the  Lorettes  and 
Grisettes.  Here  comes  the  Emperor,,  Empress,  and  Prince 
Imperial,  and  in  a  few  moments,  followed  by  a  butcher  in 
his  cart,  the  Bois  d'Bologne  knows  no  social  distinction, 
and  Louis  Napoleon  is  a  better  democrat,  than  two-thirds 
of  those  gentlemen  at  Washington,  who  are  "ringing 
little  bells,"  and  having  honest  men  dragged  from  their 
beds  at  the  dead  hour  of  night,  and  sent  we  know  not 
where.  For  amusement,  you  can  go  to  the  opera,  or  to 
the  jardin — Mabile  or  the  Chateau  d'Fleurs,  and  a  hun 
dred  places,  useless  to  mention 

There  are  a  thousand  sights  to  be  seen  in  Paris,  to  see 
either  of  which,  is  worth  the  trouble  of  an  Atlantic  voyage. 
We  saw  many  of  them,  and  returned  to  our  hotel,  fatigued 
and  thirsty,  and  while  recuperating,  under  the  influence  of 
some  of  Martel's  best,we  were  approached  by  another  strange 
gentleman,  this  time  in  brown.  He  took  a  seat  vis  a  vis, 
and  also  called  for  a  glass  of  cognac,  as  in  Europe  you 
are  not  expected  to  invite  every  gentleman  who  sits  near 
to  drink  with  you.  The  same  rule  applies  at  a  restaurant. 
If  you  invite  a  person  to  dine  with  you,  it  is  understood 
that  the  expense  is  divided.  This  is  general ;  there  are 
special  cases,  however.  You  frequently  fall  into  conver 
sation  with  gentlemen  sitting  near  you,  as  I  did  in  this 
instance  ;  thence  into  an  argument,  he  assuming  the  nega 
tive,  to  my  positive  assertion,  of  the  superiority  of  the 
nineteenth  century. 

"  The  world  is  not  fitted  for  progression  ;  a  principle 
of  truth  and  virtue,  which  as  yet  have  not  been  cardinal 
points  in  the  wTorld's  history.  In  this  sphere  all  forms 
may  change,  but  the  original  substance  remains  the  same. 
In  one  era,  you  dwell  with  wonder  upon  the  art  that  cre 
ated  the  "hanging  gardens  of  Semiramis  ;  in  another,  the 
world  looks  on,  in  amazement,  at  the  apparently  super 
human  efforts  that  raised  the  Pyramids.  The  baths  of 
Caracalla  were  marvels  of  genius  in  one  age  ;  Gallileo 
brings  out  the  telescope,  thus  extending  man's  vision  into 
the  mysteries  of  the  stella  universe.  Where  do  we  get  our 


184  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

architectural  beauties ;  the  simple  and  massive  Doric  ; 
the  severe  beauty  of  the  Ionic;  the 'elegant  Corinthian, 
and  the  Italian,  Tuscan,  and  Composite,  with  the  grandeur 
of  the  Gothic,  but  in  the  past  ?  The  Archimedean  screw 
and  burning  reflectors;  the  triumphs  of  skill,  in  engineer 
ing,  and  chemicals  of  one  period  ;  the  Chinese  wall,  and 
other  wonders  of  the  genius  of  the  past,  applied  to  differ 
ent  ages,  satisfy  us,  that  in  those  fields  of  inventive  and 
mechanical  genius,  the  nineteenth  century  finds  an  un 
questioned  superiority.  Homer  flourished  in  one  age  : 
Solon  of  Athens,  Periander  of  Corinth,  Bias  of  Priene, 
and  Lycurgus,  had  their  periods  of  poetry,  philosophy, 
and  law-giving ;  ^Esculapius  and  Hippocrates  initiated 
the  science  of  medicine ;  Xenophon  made  the  most  memo 
rable  of  retreats ;  Cesar,  Pompey,  Hannibal,  Scipio, 
Atilla,  Alexander,  and  Xerxes,  distinguished  themselves 
.as  warriors,  at  different  epochs,  and  have  left  perpetual 
monuments  of  the  generations  that  produced  them.  Wom 
an  has  added  the  genius  of  her  nature,  and  has  contributed 
to  make  remarkable,  the  eras  that  have  sank  into  the 
oblivion  of  the  past.  Semiramis  Cleopatra,  Joan  of  ^rc, 
Cornelia,  Charlotte  Corday,  and  a  host  of  famous  author 
esses,  poetesses,  and  amazons  of  power  and  talent,  have 
illumined  with  their  greatness,  the  generations  in  which 
they  flourished.  The  Iron,  Brazen,  and  Golden  ages, 
have  all  had  their  periods  of  Rebellion  and  Revolution  : 
of  men,  and  women,  great  and  small ;  of  Bonaparte  and 
D'Stael ;  of  Washington  and  Hemans,  and  in  our  day, 
of  Ho\vard  and  Nightingale. 

"As  to  any  great  men  in  politics  of  to-day,  there  are 
two,  Napoleon  and  Bismark,  in  America  none.  In  mili 
tary  circles,  Bazaine,  who  sacrificed  himself  rather  than 
disturb  the  prestige  of  his  Emperor ;  George  B. 
McClellan,  whose  military  genius  would  have  adorned  any 
period,  and  Robert  E.  Lee,*  the  master  military  spirit  of 
the  age,  heroic  even  in  his  defeat. 

"  We  are  not  benefitted  by  the  light  of  the  past,  as  is 
usually  accepted,  nor  by  the  experience  of  others,  there- 

*  Robert  E.  Lee,  (is  now  1868,)  President  of  Washington  College,  Virginia. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        185 

fore  the  wisdom  of  nineteen  centuries  is  lost  upon  us,  and 
we  are  indebted  to  the  intelligence  furnished  us  by  that 
Great  Being,  who  gives  tons,  as  to  each  other  century,  things 
agreeable  to  His  will,  and  adapted  to  the  wants  of  each. 
Were  it  not  so,  Mexico  wrould  profit  by  her  fifty-six  Revolu 
tions,  and  the  many  different  governments  of  Europe,  by 
past  political  convulsions,  that  have  cost  millions  of  treasure, 
and  the  sacrifice  of  a  myriad  of  lives,  and  in  America,  our 
system  is  the  result  of  success,  obtained  through  the  murder 
and  robbery  of  the  red  man.  All  human  government  is 
imperfect,  the  most  perfect  organized  society  is  not  secure, 
the  dearest  of  ties,  domestic,  social,  political,  or  religious, 
are  disturbed  and  broken  through  man's  incapacity  to 
control  his  passions,  all  of  which  proves  to  our  mind,  the 
fallacy  of  that  theory  of  human  legislation,  which  pro 
poses,  by  its  workings,  to  insure  the  greatest  amount  of 
good  to  the  greatest  number,  and  satisfies  us,  that  govern 
ment  is  not  the  result  of  Revolution,  but  Revolution  is  a 
consequence  of  government,  and  as  long  as  the  world 
stands  originals  will  exist,  while  derivatives  may  change 
their  forms." 

"You  have  satisfied  me,  sir,  the  negative  has  it,  with 

this  exception,  that  the  'bad  whiskey,'  sold  in  the  caffes 

of  Paris,  and  represented  as  the  best  '  Old  Bourbon,'  has 

never  had,  nor  never  will  have,  its  equal,  in  any  century." 

13 


186        SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 


CHAPTER   VII. 


TILE  "LONE  STAR"  3TATE.-TURCUIN  IN  ALABAMA  "  OUT-IIERODINQ  " 
BUTLER  IN  LOUISIANA.— WM.  G.  RROWNLOW,  THE  "  BARNUM  "  OF 
THE  SOUTH.— GRAPE-VINE  LINE  ACTIVE.— THE  "FOURTH  ESTATE" 
IN  PRISON. -HOW  WE  OBTAIN  STIMULANTS.— GREAT  EXCITEMENT 
IN  CAMP.— CONFEDERATES  REPORTED  VICTORIOUS.— THE  MUNIFI 
CENCE  OF  OUR  CUSTODIANS.-OUR  LAUNDRY.-HUMAN  NATURE 
IN  BREAD  CHUNKS.-EDWIN  M.  STANTON,  SECRETARY  OF  WAR.- 
ARRIVAL  OF  CIVILIANS.— MURDER  OF  A  PRISONER  BY  A  SENTI 
NEL.— BIG  GATE. -THEY  STOLE  MY  WHISKEY,  AND  ROBBED  PETER 
TO  PAY  PAUL.- JOKE  ON  OUR  CUSTODIANS.-PICNICIANS  ON  THE 
RAMPAGE. 

¥E  have  thirty-two  officers  in  prison  from  Texas.  To 
the  traveler,  who  has  been  in  the  wilds  of  Texas, 
the  distinguishing  of  these  brave  and  daring  men  from 
the  natives  of  other  States,  as  he  traverses  our  campus,  is 
no  difficult  task.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  characters 
from  Texas,  with  us,  is  Lieutenant  D.  P.  Gallagher.  He 
has  held  his  own,  in  every  circle  in  which  he  has  ever 
tigured — California,  Nicaragua,  thence  into  the  fields  of 
Texas,  then  a  soldier,  now  a  prisoner.  "  Texas,"  as  we 
(tall  him,  is  as  little  susceptible  of  change  as  any  prisoner 
in  the  pen ;  has  a  head  and  hand  shaped  right,  for  "  pok 
er,"  of  which  game  he  is  the  acknowledged  chief;  and 
he  is  a  perfect  specimen  of  the  men  of  that  soil,  that  has 
been  watered  by  the  blood  of  Crockett,  Travis,  and  Bowie. 
The  other  Texans  with  us  are  a  distinguished  body  of 
officers,  who  will  make  their  mark,  whenever  time  and 
place  offers  an  opportunity. 

The  following  are  those  personally  known  to  us :  Ser 
geant  S.  F.  Moody,  Captain  W.  S.  Moody,  Lieutenant 
C.  F.  Moore,  Lieutenant  W.  McAlpine,  Lieutenant  J.  C. 
Lowe,  Lieutenant  G.  B.  Lipscomb,  Lieutenant  J.  D. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.         187 

Henderson,  Robert  H.  High,  Win.  T.  Harris,  Lieutenant 
A.  Ford,  Lieutenant  J.  H.  English,  Lieutenant  S.  P. 
Donnelly,  Adjutant  W.  D.  Daylen,  Lieutenant  J.  H.  Col 
let,  Lieutenant  J.  H.  Coven,  Lieutenant  J.  M.  Craig, 
Lieutenant  Thomas  B.  Camp,  Captain  J.  W.  Brown,  Cap 
tain  H.  M.  Bradheart,  George  A.  Blain,  George  F.  Boley, 
Captain  E.  F  Broughton,  Lieutenant  E.  Balhnger,  Lieu 
tenant  T.  J.  Bell. 

We  have  sad  news  in  prison  to-day  from  Alabama, 
relating  to  abominable  atrocities,  committed  at  Athens, 
in  that  State,  by  a  horde  of  barbarians,  under  the  imme 
diate  command  of  Colonel  Turchin,  the  same  miscreant, 
who  disgraced  the  name  of  soldier  in  Missouri,  committing 
excesses,  that  the  soul  of  civilization  revolts  at.  Let  this 
officer  and  his  command  be  remembered  by  the  gallant 
sons  of  Alabama.  Let  them  inscribe  upon  their  banners, 
"  Victory  or  death,  over  all  such  murderers  as  Turchin 
and  his  command,  those  violators  of  children,  robbers,  and 
assassins,  authors  of  crimes  so  monstrous,  that  human 
nature  revolts  at  their  recital,  Butler,  the  'beast,'  and 
Turchin,  the  'American  Hay  nau.' "  (The  Austrian  tyrant 
merely  lashed  women  ;  this  would  be  a  mild  oifense 
for  Turchin.) 

William  G.  Brownlow,*  the  "  Barnum  "  of  the  South. 
This  arrant  "  humbug,"  now  perambulating  the  gullible 
North,  is  hardly  worth  a  few  lines  ;  but  as  he  has  attracted 
some  attention,  by  the  publication  of  a  huge  volume  of 
blackguardisms,  and  vituperative  falsehoods,  it  would  seem 
vain  to  overlook  him.  This  blasphemer  is  politically 
what  the  French  call  a  "charlatan,"  good  society  a  "black 
guard,"  the  rabble  a  "  brick."  He  says,  he  never  took  a 
''•  drink"  in  his  life.  His  little,  weazened  and  cadaverous 
features  show  the  absence  of  that  soul,  that  incites  a  man, 
to  indulge  in  a  "  little  wine  for  the  stomach's  sake."  He 
says,  he  does  not  use  tobacco.  This  we  also  believe,  as 

*  No  greater  scoundrel  than  the  present  Governor  of  Tennessee  ever  dis 
graced  the  gubernatorial  chair  of  any  State.  This  agrarian  is  a  curse  upon  the 
soil;  and  there  can  be  no  relief  from  his  putrid  carcass,  nntil  the  Father  of 
He«  claims  his  son — W.  G.  Browulow,  the  blackguard,  incendiary,  and  blas 
phemer.  His  book,  Childs,  of  the  Philadelphia  ''  Ledger,"  gave  him  $15,000 
/«•  ,•  to  help  him,  'tis  said. 


188         SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

he  is  too  mean  to  buy  it.  I  met  this  clerical  hypocrite 
at  the  Baltimore  convention,  where  *I  had  a  fine  oppor 
tunity,  of  listening  to  his  ribaldry  and  cant.  He  has  no 
talent.  His  reputation,  as  a  writer,  is  based  upon  the 
same  capital  that  built  up  Bennett — a  sort  of  "  stingare." 
Browulow  has  some  nerve;  as  he  fears  no  Hell,  conscious 
that  no  element  has  more  fire  in  it,  than  his  own  bad  pas 
sions.  The  Revolution  has  thrown  him  to  the  surface, 
as  it  has  other  scum  ;  and  failing  in  his  attempt  to  impose 
upon  the  South,  he  has  sold  out  to  the  North,  wrhom  he 
is  now  "Barnumizing." 

To-day,  Sunday,  July  21st,  1862,  is  the  most  violently 
active  one  we  have  had.  Grape-vine  has  been  startlingly 
alive,  to  the  merest  rumors.  Slips  from  ancient  papers, 
with  letters  from  hopeful  and  confident  Fort  Warren 
prisoners,  were  eagerly  scrutinized,  and  in  some  instances 
severely  criticized.  One  letter  from  Colonel  Cooke,  of 
the  Thirty-second  Tennessee,  one  of  the  most  popular 
officers  in  the  army,  reads,  "  Be  of  good  cheer,  we  will 
be  out  in  a  few  days."  But  unfortunately  for  the  relia 
bility  of  the  colonel's  judgment,  he  wrote  the  same  thing 
two  months  ago,  proving  our  Fort  Warren  friends  to  be 
as  credulous  as  ourselves.  The  letters,  howrever,  from 
all  quarters,  are  more  cheering,  and  we  are  more  hopeful. 

The  father  of  Captain  Hedden  visited  us  yesterday,  an 
intelligent  citizen  of  New  Jersey,  who  is  sanguine  of  our 
speedy  exchange.  Some  one  has  a  letter  from  Colonel 
Lyon,  who  has  one  from  Colonel  Kenly,  of  Baltimore,  who 
saw  Stanton,  who  said,  that  the  only  impediment  was  Buck- 
ner  ;  but  that  the  Federal  government  had  agreed  to 
give  np  this  noble  Kentuckian  ;  and  that  General  Dix 
had  been  authorized  to  accede  to  the  demands  of  the 
Confederates,  and  arrange  as  per  cartel  of  1812;  all  of 
which  makes  a  pretty  good  chain  of  circumstantial  evi 
dence  in  exchange,  which  has  carried  the  stock  up  to-day, 
"  higher  than  a  kite."  May  the  stock  still  go  up,  up,  up, 
until  we  go  down,  down,  down,  to  Dixie,  where,  "  With 
a  bottle  of  whiskey  in  each  hand, 

Many  will  make  their  gallant  stand 
In  the  happy  land  of  Dixie." 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  189 

The  press  is  the  most  powerful  of  all  the  moral  engines 
in  the  world;  it  has  more  influence  upon  the  mass,  than 
all  other  forces  combined.  The  press,  with  the  powerful 
influence  it  wields,  is  not  always  the  leader  of  popular 
opinion.  It  usually  feels  the  public  pulse,  and  taking  its 
direction  from  their  impulses,  leaps  to  the  front  of  the  pro 
gressive  element,  and  becomes  its  champion;  too  often 
assuming  any  expedient  that  may  give  it  prestige  with  its 
•'  drawn  in  followers."  The  press,  under  the  control  of  a 
badly  balanced  head,  is  mighty  to  do  evil;  directed  by 
the  power  of  a  bad  heart,  is  a  dangerous  weapon,  and 
powerless  for  good ;  but  in  the  hands  of  wisdom,  the  press 
is  the  most  beneficent  creation  in  the  physical  world. 
The  "  New  York  Herald."  This  sheet  comes  out  after 
the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks,  (which  is  claimed  as  a  brilliant 
victory  by  the  Confederates,)  and  says  in  flaming  capitals, 
"  Glorious  victory  for  the  United  States  forces  under 
McClellan,  our  loss  200."  A  few  days  afterward,  in  small 
print,  "  200  typographical  error,  loss  supposed  to  be 
3,000."  A  week  afterward,  in  still  smaller  print,  "  real 
loss  about  7,000."  But  the  aim  of  the  "Herald"  is 
accomplished,  the  first  impression  upon  the  public  mind 
is  lasting,  and  the  after  corrections  are  of  little  importance 
until  the  developments  of  time  prove  the  "  Herald's " 
falsehoods,  and  then,  the  articles  are  only  remembered  by 
a  few,  as  the  mass,  in  the  exciting  present,  lose  sight  of 
the  past,  and  the  "  Herald,"  with  the  independence  of 
impunity,  goes  on  lying.  The  "Tribune"  says  "A  or 
B,  is  a  great  scoundrel,"  in  large  type.  A  hundred 
thousand  readers  pore  over  its  slanders,  and  believe  them. 
The  following  day,  the  amende  honorable  is  made  in  small 
type,  and  is  read  by  (possibly)  one  half  of  those  who 
swallowed  the  slander  of  the  previous  "issue."  Thus 
fifty  thousand  persons  remain  under  the  impression,  for 
the  balance  of  their  days,  that  the  man  is  a  great  rascal. 
All  papers  have  a  weakness  for  puffing  Adams'  Express. 
On  the  sea-board  and  river  towns,  steamships  and  steam 
boats.  Editors,  in  general,  are  fond  of  whiskey.  Writers 
for  literary  weeklies,  of  women  and  the  twist  of  their 
moustache.  Political  editors  yearn  for  fat  consulates. 


190  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

Printer's  devils  are  really  impish,  follow  copy  if  it  goe* 
out  the  window;  criticize-  the  cliirflgraphy  of  corres 
pondents,  and  curse  the  want  of  brain  that  presents 
unintelligible  manuscript,  yet  emanating  from  the  genius 
of  an  individual  who  loans  the  editor  sufficient  to  meet 
composition  bills.  Carriers  are  in  ecstacy  when  the 
"New  Year's  Address"  is  profitable  ;  too  many  of  them 
chew,  smoke,  and  swear,  and  if  you  don't  watch  them,  will 
sell  you  a  paper  a  wreek  old.  Like  the  Gamins  of  Paris, 
they  look  upon  the  world  as  their  victims,  outside  of  their 
own  craft. 

I  was  standing  on  Lafayette  Square,  in  the  city  of  New 
Orleans,  some   years   since,  witnessing  a   review   of  the 
"Louisiana  Legion,"  by   Major-General  Lewis.     I  was 
anxious  to    hear  Jordan,    the  famous    old    drummer   of 
New  Orleans,  and  Mexican  war  notoriety,  and  to  see  the 
evolutions  of  the  "  Louisiana  Grays,"  a  celebrated  company 
of  the  Crescent  City.     Being  a  stranger,  I  interrogated 
one  of  two  little  news-venders  standing  by,  as  to   the 
position  of  the  company  in  the  line  ?     The  little  fellow 
looked  me  right  square  in  the  eye,  while  he  expectorated  a 
quid,  with  the  nonchalance  of  a  Jack  tar,  answered,  ask 
Bill,  I  don't  study  geography,  then   opened  a  battery  on 
the  passers  by,  "  here's  your  Crescent,  Picayune,  Bee,  and 
Delta."     The  boys  always  take  to  the  political  tenets  of 
their  paper,  and  discuss  the   "  why  and  wherefore,"  with 
as  much  enthusiasm,  if  not  with  as  much  ability,  as  their 
wiser   "  bosses."     Papers,   like  theories,  have  their  day, 
flourish,   decay,  and   die.     The  smart  ones,  who  control 
theirs,  get  rich  during  the  sunshine.     Philadelphia  papers 
were  once  potent ;  they  yielded  to  Boston,  and  now  New 
York  bears  off  the  palm.     Bonner,  with  his  blood  and 
thunder  stories,  having  trotted  (Dexter-like)  over  the  field 
of  weekly  journalism.     He,  as  others  before  him,  will  live 
a  few  years,  and  Bonner's  "Ledger"  will  be  among  the 
things  that  were.     Before  the  innovations  of  the  telegram, 
and  the  retirement  of  Kendall,  the  "Picayune,"  of  New 
Orleans,  \v&spar  excellence  the  journal  of  the  South,  and 
was  to  that  section,  what  the   "  New  York  World"  is  to 
the   North;    the  "Boston  Post"    to  the  East,   and    the 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  P.RISON  TABLE.  191 

1  'Louisville  Journal"  and  the  -"Memphis  Avalanche"  are 
tot-he  West,  what  the  "Picayune"  was,  the  "Crescent"  is. 

The  press  of  to-day,*  is  in  a  position  to  take  its  stand 
as  the  great  mover  of  the  moral  world,  or  to  ruin  it  by 
vacillation,  pandering,  and  falsity,  and  thus  reduce  itself  to 
a  state  of  negativeness,  that  will  demoralize  its  efficiency, 
leaving  us  nothing  but  rags,  ink,  and  bell-metal.  We  have 
many  journalists  of  rare  ability  within  these  prison  walls, 
whose  names  are  known  to  the  country  as  being  among  its 
most  distinguished  writers,  to  whom  the  Southern  people 
can  look  as  the  proper  custodians  of  the  interests  of  the 
"Fourth  Estate": 

Captain  Beaumont,  of  the  Nashville  press;  G.  W. 
McCraine,  that  fearless  writer  and  courtly  gentleman  : 
Ward,  that  chaste  writer  of  the  Tennessee  press ;  Hogane, 
of  the  Missouri ;  Lipscomb,  of  the  New  Orleans  ;  Whit- 
n'eld  of  the  Alabama ;  and  Simms,  of  the  Georgia — the 
latter  one  of  the  most  brilliant  writers  in  the  country. 

Army  officers,  no  matter  of  what  clime  or  caste,  have 
a  strong  penchant  foi  alcoholic  beverages,  most  particu 
larly  when  absent  from  the  excitements  of  camp  and 
field.  Imprisonment  begets  thought,  then  ennui,  then 
we  need  some  little  reactionary  fluid  to  partially  destroy, 
if  we  can't  drive  "dull  care  away."  But  the  officials  of 
this  point  of  land,  (I  wish  it  was  a  neck  instead,  attached 
to  a  goodly  bottle,)  have  denied  us  the  invigorator,  so  we 
have  resorted  to  all  kinds  of  tricks  to  get  a  "  drop  o'  the 
crather,"  in  (an  article  that  attracted  the  Irishman  to  the 
summit  of  Vesuvius,  learning  that  at  this  point  alone, 
there  was  a  superabundance  of  the  "crater.") 

A  trick  at  camp  used  to  be,  steal  a  barrel  from  the 
cornmisary,  bury  it,  and  play  "  mumble  the  peg,"  over 
the  bung-hole,  each  man  mumbling  in  turn,  sucking 
at  a  quill,  rather  than  pulling  at  the  peg ;  it  has  been 
done  within  ten  steps  of  the  officer's  tent.  Some  would 
introduce  it  in  coffee  pots,  the  jaw  of  the  spout  filled  with 
dough,  the  mouth  with  buttermilk.  Some  few  days 
since.  Captain  Morton  was  inclined  to  imbibe  a  drop  of 

*  The  great  paper  of  America  to-day— 1868— is  Brick  Pomeroy's,  in  New 
York,  because  tearless  and  honest. 


192  SCRAPS  FROM /THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

the  ardent,  and  conceived  the  happy  expedient  of  feign 
ing  sickness,  so  we  put  him  in  bed.  -Jake  Morton  is  one 
of  your  melancholly  look  ing  men,  deep  black  eyes,  very 
nervous,  and  can  feign  a  shake,  like  a  man  with  the  ague. 
As  soon  as  we  got  him  up  to  •  a  good  shaking  point,  we 
sent  for  the  post  surgeon,  who  prescribed  a  quart  of 
whiskey  and  an  ounce  of  Peruvian  bark,  to  be  well 
shaken  before  taken,  and  drank  ad  libitum. 

Jake  had  read  of  the  entire  exemption  of  the  workers 
in  Peruvian  bark  from  fever,  and  as  a  sanitary  measure, 
concluded  to  put  the  bark  in  his  pocket,  and  take  the 
whiskey  plain.  There  was  one  drink  around,  for  when  it 
comes,  seldom  the  potations  are  large.  Jake's  disease 
kept  us  in  spirits  some  time.  Jack  Handy  has  reported, 
that  there  is  a  jug  of  good  whiskey  in  the  hosptal,  "how 
to  capture  it,"  is  the  unanimous  expression.  We  got  a 
jug,  sealed  it  with  wax,  and  arranged  that  Captain  Pal 
mer  and  T.  Saunders  Sale,  should  take  a  loose  linen  coat, 
secreting  the  jug  beneath  its  capaciousness,  get  some  of  the 
boys  to  raise  a  row  in  front  of  the  hospital,  which  would 
attract  the  inmates  to  the  front,  thus  enabling  the  two 
juggists  to  make  the  change  at  the  back  door.  Unfortu 
nately  for  the  plot,  so  well  laid,  the  owner  came  for  his 
jug,  and  we  lost  the  spirits,  since  which  time,  we  have 
suffered  the  pangs  of  the  victims  of  the  jug  or  not,  (Jug 
gernaut.)  Our  Georgia  friends  have  smuggled  in  some 
Otard,  in  bottles  labelled,  "Allsups."  Some  has  come  in 
false  bottomed  buckets,  and  by  the  use  of  other  means, 
not  mentionable.  We  manage  now  and  then,  to  keep 
our  spirits  up,  by  pouring  a  few  drops  down. 

To-day,  the  sutler  brings  in  a  bundle  of  extras.  They 
announce  in  ambiguous  language,  it  is  true,  yet  unmis 
takable  to  us,  that  we  have  won  a  great  battle  at  Rich 
mond,  June  30,  1862,  and  the  enemy  has  founfi  our  last 
ditch.  Many  brave  and  gallant  soldiers  have  bitten  the 
dust,  many  households  made  desolate,  yet  a  thousand 
voices,  in  our  prison  to-day,  are  expressing  their  joy  at 
the  victory.  One  of  our  most  staid  prisoners,  ever  digni 
fied  and  reticent,  Captain  Walker,  of  Tennessee,  has 
thrown  his  hat  away,  and  is  carried  off  by  his  friends. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  193 

Lieutenant  C.  H.  Stockdell,  of  Nashville,  Tennessee,  one 
of  the  most  intelligent  and  sprightly  gentlemen  in  prison, 
is  quite  carried  away  by  his  feelings.  The  newa  has 
reached  the  hospital,  and  acts  like  a  charm  on  the  sick. 
Good  news  is  a  tine  curative,  tattling  and  prison  duties 
are  forgotten,  all  play  is  suspended,  the  buildings  are 
deserted  for  the  campus,  and  all  join  in  the  general 
rejoicing.  Our  custodians  can't  stand  the  disappoint 
ment,  now  comes  their  turn. 

"  Stop  that  yelling,  you  d — d  rebels,  and  clear  the 
campus,  or  we'll  lire  upon  you." 

"  We  are  not  disobeying  orders,  or  breaking  rules." 

"Clear  the  campus,  and  dry  up,  or  d — n  your  rebel 
hearts,  we'll  give  it  to  you." 

"  Go  to  the  front,  you  cowardly  scoundrels,"  mutters 
each  Confederate,  as  he  enters  his  room,  "  where  you  can 
have  a  chance  of  facing  men  with  weapons  in  their  hands, 
a,  more  dangerous  business  than  threatening,  and  murder 
ing  unarmed  prisoners." 

The  hospital  has  been  alluded  to  before,  but  will  bear 
repitition,  as  it  has  changed  hands.  The  release  oi  our 
surgeons  unconditionally,  thus  leaving  the  sick  without 
medical  attendance,  has  made  a  draft  upon  some  of  our 
line  officers,  who  were  practicing  physicians  at  home,  of 
the  first  order  of  ability.  Captain  Allen,  of  the  Fortieth 
Regiment,  Tennessee  Volunteers,  is  now  in  charge  of  the 
hospital.  He  is  a  calm,  dignified  gentleman,  skillful  in 
his  profession,  and  quite  popular  with  the  sick.  Captain 
Ray,  of  Lauderdale  county,  Alabama,  is  an  assistant,  and 
adds  to  his  medical  knowledge  conversational  powers,  and 
gentlemanly  bearing.  Captain  McNutt,  and  Lieutenant 
Coppice,  of  Tennessee,  also  aid  in  the  .dispensatory  ;  are 
very  attentive,  confine  themselves  strictly  to  their  duties, 
which  are  quite  arduous.  Their  untiring  efforts,  in 
connection  with  their  chief,  Captain  Allen,  to  administer  , 
to  the  sick,  entitle  them  to  the  grateful  acknowledgments 
of  the  entire  prison. 

On  entering  the  prison  a  sergeant  approaches  the 
"mess,"  and  desires  to  know  if  any  are  suffering  for 
clothing,  and  if  a  candidate  responds  in  the  affirmative, 


194         SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

his  breeches  are  critically  examined  J)j  the  energetic  non 
commissioned  officer,  who,  if  the  breach  be  a  wide  one, 
furnishes  a  new  pair  of  pants,  a  light  blue  blouse,  alittle  cap, 
a  pair  of  drawers  and  shirt,  and  one  blanket  for  two  men. 
There  were  but  few  of  us  who  got  the  bltte&,  in  this 
particular,  as  many  did  not  need  them,  and  not  over  a 
half  dozen  became  ornamented  with  what  we  deemed 
badges  of  servitude.  One  blanket  for  two  men  would 
be  sufficient  covering  in  Calcutta,  but  in  Johnson's  island 
it  is  for  those  to  determine  who  have  tried  it.  Our  com 
mandant  says,  that  if  we  lose  oui;  buildings  by  fire,  we 
will  suffer  ;  it  is  possible  with  one  blanket  to  two  men ; 
however,  the  issuance  is  on  a  par  with  the  other  brutalities 
extended.  Did  we  depend  on  our  custodians  for  neces 
saries,  much  less  superfluities,  we  would  have  a  sorry 
.time  on  Johnson's  island.  We  have  expended  $60,000, 
since  our  arrival,  the  greater  proportion  of  which  has 
been  devoted  to  supplies,  as  the  chunk  of  fat  pork  that 
adorns  our  mess-table,  is  not  sufficient  to  make  Falstafts 
of  any  of  us.  We  have  had  many  friends  among  the 
humanitarians  North,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  many 
comforts,  that  have  gone  far  towards  soothing  the  rigors 
of  our  imprisonment  and  the  asperities  engendered  by 
subordination  to  Pierson  and  his  braves. 

Solomon,  when  asked  by  the  Queen  of  Sheba,  to  select 
the  boys  from  the  girls  out  of  fifty  equally  divided,  aa  to 
sex,  but  all  dressed  alike,  as  boys,  ordered  water  for 
ablutions,  and  discovered  that  the  females  rolled  their 
sleeves  to  the  elbow,  the  males  to  the  wrist.  Solomon's 
wisdom  answered  for  those  days,  but  he  would  have  been 
sadly  at  fault  had  he  visited  our  laundry  at  Johnson's 
island  and  seen  the  spe  ctacle  of  four  confederate  officers, 
with  coats  off  and  sleeves  rolled  up,  not  only  to  the 
elbow  but  the  arm  pits,  manipulating  socks,  handker- 
,  chiefs,  and  unmention  ables  generally.  The  establish 
ment  of  our  laundry  by  the  four  officers  aforesaid, 
resulted  from  capital  ;  they  having  means  sufficient  to 
buy  soap,  and  wit  enough  to  borrow  tubs,  in  consequence 
thereof  they  do  a  "land-office"  business.  Monday  morn 
ing  is  the  time  for  delivering  your  articles,  as  the  chief 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  19/> 

of  the  establishment  is  positive  and  despotic,  (capital 
ever  is,)  and  will  not  receive  garments  after  sharp  four  P. 
M.,  Monday,  and  will  only  deliver  up  to  sharp  dark, 
Saturday.  We  patronized  the  establishment,  as  having 
attempted  the  washing  of  a  doughty  shirt  at  camp  Chase, 
that  like  the  Gascon's,  had  been  changed  in  two  months, 
and  then  inside  out;  he  it  was  who  said  "what  a  filthy 
fellow  he  must  be  who  changes  his  garment  every  day," 
and  found  ourselves  unequal  to  the  task.  We  soaked  it 
and  wrung  it,  and  tried  to  dry  it  on  the  stove-pipe. 
After  three  days  it  was  still  wet,  and  on  being  trans 
ferred  to  this  island,  we  nailed  it  to  the  wall,  where  it 
still  hangs,  as  a  wet  memento  of  the  writer's  failure  as  a 
washerman.  Our  laundry  on  Johnson's  island  has 
system.  A  cigar  box  is  nailed  to  a  tree,  and  in  which  are 
found  pieces  of  blank  paper,  the  executive  head  of  the 
establishment  retaining  his  pencil  in  his  port-folio ;  not 
that  he  feared  its  disappearance  surieptitiously,  but 
pencils  were  pencils.  Each  patron  of  the  firm  wrote  his 
name,  and  number  of  articles — the  latter  not  a  difficult 
task — on  his  bundle,  and  turned  joyfully  away  hoping 
that  a  mistake  would  occur  on  delivery,  he  getting  some 
one's  article  for  his  own,  knowing  he  could  not  be 
worsted.  Each  thinking  so  felt  safe  as  to  the  return  of 
their  articles.  It  is  a  curious  sight^  a  hundred  bundles 
strung  out  under  the  eyes  of  the  managers,  who  were 
buoyant  in  anticipation  of  the  returns,  at  the  close  of  the 
wreek.  The  charge  is  five  cents  per  piece.  The  prisoner 
who  has  more  than  one  shirt,  is  a  Pacha  with  three  tails, 
to  his  shirts. 

"He  who  steals  my  'rank,'  steals  trash ;"  but  he  who 
filches  from  me  my  chunk  of  bread,  robs  me  of  that  that 
will  not  satiate  him,  and  I  am  not  much  the  worse,  as  the 
United  States  commissary's  flour,  at  this  post,  is  mene, 
mene,  tekel,  upharsin.  Tell  it  not  in  Gath,  but  'tis  even 
so,  a  brother  officer,  who  was  honest  at  home,  watching 
a  favorable  opportunity,  to-day  at  dinner,  exchanged  his 
chunk  of  the  staff  of  life  for  mine — having  an  eye  to 
quantity  as  well  as  quality.  'Tis  said,  human  nature  is 
made  up  of  chunks ;  but  a  hungry  man  is  averse  to  hav- 


196  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

ing  the  individual  representative  of  nature  made  of  huge 
proportions,  at  the  expense  of  his  stomach.  Man  is  a 
queer  animal ;  some  are  born  great,  and  don't  know  it. 
Like  English  Hobson,  who,  in  letting  horses,  forced  eacli 
comer  to  take  the  one  next  the  stable  door,  little  dream 
ing,  that  "Hobson's  choice"  would  become  a  common 
proverb,  and  thus  be  notorious  in  a  certain  sense.  So 
with  my  chum  ;  the  greatness,  that  I  envelope  him  with, 
will  descend  to  posterity,  as  a  "  commissary's  choice." 
My  fellow  prisoners  can  see  the  point.  We  make  history 
for  the  pilferer,  but  on  the  bread  question  we  lose  avoir 
dupois.  "  Necessity  knows  no  law ;"  but  when  a  man 
dips  up  on  a  friend,  on  the  subject  of  bread  chunks,  and 
in  a  season  of  good  wheat  crops,  in  a  fraternal  sense,  we 
place  him  beyond  the  pale  of — communion. 
.  It  is  not  exactly  the  province  of  a  prisoner  of  war,  to 
say  much  about  outside  barbarians,  but  as  Edwin  M.  Stan- 
ton,  Secretary  of  War,  the  barbarian  aforesaid,  has  placed 
himself  in  a  position  to  be  shot  at,  why  it  is  but  fair,  we 
should  make  him  a  target ;  and  if  we  don't  knock  the 
black  out,  the  arch  military  fiend  of  the  war  department 
of  the  United  States  will,  if  the  North  whips  the  fight. 
Until  the  world  in  aghast  at  the  atrocities,  that  in  such 
an  event  will  ensue,  will  exclaim,  not  as  of  yore,  when 
the  Puritans  were  robbing  and  murdering  the  Indians, 
"Lo  !  the  poor  Indian  !"  but  with  ejaculations  of  horror, 
"  Alas !  the  poor  African  1"  He  bid'dodspeed  to  Senator 
Brown,  as  he  was  leaving  the  senate,  to  unite  his  fortunes 
with  the  South.  He  was  also  Buchanan's  legal  adviser, 
when  the  struggle  was  fermenting.  He  earneastly  advised 
and  commended  the  course  that  Breckenridge  pursued  ; 
and  look  at  him  now.  I  have  examined  the  record  alpha 
betically  of  all  great  men,  both  good  and  bad  ;  and  of  all 
the  bad  men,  not  one  but  has  had  some  spark  of  manhood, 
some  devotional  instinct,  or  some  humane  inspiration. 
Robespierre  signed  death  warrants  with  one  hand,  and 
stroked  a  poodle  with  the  other  ;  Marat  left  intelligent 
works  ot  science,  although  a  butcher  of  his  kind  ;  Nero  was 
fond  of  music ;  Caracalla  had  architectural  tastes ;  Xerxes 
and  Alexander  could  weep ;  but  poor  Stanton  is  satis 


SCRAPS  FKOM  THE  PRISON  TABLE         197 

soul,  sans  heart,  sans  taste,  sans  everything  that  is  noble 
and  true.  I  had  asked  a  parole,  for  the  State  of  Ohio, 
knowing  they  were  granted  in  a  score  of  cases,  and  it  had 
been  strongly  recommended  by  that  polished  gentleman, 
and  humane  Union  soldier,  Inspector  General  Wright, 
of  the  State  of  Ohio,  and  approved  by  Governor  Todd,  of 
the  same  State,  whose  consistent  kindness  to  prisoners  is 
proverbial.  And  on  being  transferred  from  camp  Chase 
to  this  prison,  I  had  forwarded  the  parole  to  Edward 
Everett,  of  Massachusetts,  for  his  influence,  as  the  super 
intendent  of  our  prison  would  not  honor  any  recommen 
dation  of  Governor  Todd,  referring  me  to  the  Secretary 
of  War.  In  a  few  days,  I  received  the  following  from 
Mr.  Everett : 

"  CHICAGO,  May  14th,  1862. 

"  DEAR  SIR  : — Your  letter,  inclosing  General  Wright's 
parole,  having  been  forwarded  to  me  at  this  place,  was 
received  by  me  this  evening.  I  will,  by  the  next  mail, 
address  a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  inclosing  Gen 
eral  Wright's  parole,  and  requesting  the  Secretary  to 
ratify  it. 

"  Respectfully  Yours, 

"  EDWARD  EVERETT." 

The  immaculate  gave  an  equivocal  reply.  Again  the 
honorable  gentleman  applied — and  a  similar  answer  from 
the  scarecrow  of  the  war  department.  The  third  time 
the  kind-hearted  Everett  asked  for  my  release,  and  the 
final  answer  of  the  bear  was  :  "  No  special  paroles  granted 
until  the  rebels  lay  down  their  arms,  as  the  arrangement 
for  a  cartel  has  been  broken  by  their  bad  faith,  by  thus 
telling  a  lie ;  and  snubbing  the  distinguished  son  of  Massa 
chusetts,  whom  he  detested  because  lie  was  a  gentleman. 
AV*ere  it  not  so,  the  favor  would  have  been  granted,  out 
of  courtesy  to  Mr.  Everett's  eminent  position,  and  even  if 
a  political  opponent,  among  gentlemen,  the  courtesy  was 
doubly  due — little  points,  however,  that  Stanton  is  not 
supposed  to  know  anything  about.  It  was  not  a  fling 
at  me,  for  I  am  too  small  a  fish  for  this  mighty  Levia 
than  to  swallow,  Plutarch  said:  "the  difference  be 
tween  a  man  and  a  beast  was,  the  latter  had  no  knowl- 


198  SCKAPS  FKOM  THE  PRISON  TABI.K. 

edge  or  feeling  of  a  Deity."  If  Stanton  felt  or  knew 
there  was  a  God,  he  would  act  differently,  "the  Beast." 

Of  all  the  damning  outrages  committed  by  our  enemies 
on  the  Southern  people,  one  of  the  most  high-handed,  is 
tne  arrest  of  private  citizens,  of  whom  several  hundred  are 
driven  into  the  pen  to-day,  like  sheep  led  to  the  slaughter. 
Some  taken  from  their  beds,  others  from  their  desks,  and 
ploughs,  and  some  from  the  bar,  and  pulpit,  hurried  off, 
half  clad,  without  warning  or  a  suspicion  of  a  charge 
against  them.  I  asked  one,  of  the  several  old  men,  in 
camp  Chase,  a  man  at  least  seventy-five  years  of  age, 
with  hoary  beard  and  tottering  steps,  as  he  was  wandering 
listlessly  around  the  prison  yard :  "  How  came  you  here  V" 
"  I  can't  tell.  I  was  taken  from  my  home  and  brought 
here,  I  don't  know  what  for.  I  did  no  one  harm,  and 
am  very  much  distressed  about  my  people;  they  will  not 
know  what  has  become  of  me."  Others  did  not  know  why 
they  were  similiarly  treated,  nor  could  any  of  us  tell 
them.  Among  the  arrivals,  this  morning,  is  the 
distinguished  l)r.  Hobson,  of  Kentucky,  one  of  the  most 
eminent  divines  of  that  State,  who  preaches  us  a  sermon 
to-morrow. 

Lieutenant  Gibson,  of  the  Eleventh  Arkansas  Regi 
ment,  Volunteers,  was  murdered  to-day  by  a  sentinel, 
whom,  I  learn,  did  the  shooting  wilfully  and  maliciously. 
An  order,  that  would  have  put  a  Caligula  or  Nero  to  the 
blush,  had  been  published  by  the  hypocritical  and  con 
temptible  Pierson,  to  the  effect,  that  all  prisoners  should 
retire  to  their  quarters  at  retreat,  which  was  at  sundown, 
the  only  period  of  the  day,  that  it  was  possible  to  be 
comfortable,  crowding  us  into  a  suffocating  room,  to  the 
number  of  fifty  in.  ours,  three  bunks  high,  and  reaching 
to  the  ceiling,  two  in  a  bunk.  One  tin  pan  for  us  to  wash 
out  of;  and  the  straw  of  our  beds  changed,  not  at  all  in 
our  room.  I  don't  know  of  other  messes.  Yet  they  say 
we  are  well  treated.  Lieutenant  Gibson,  as  all  of  us. 
obeyed  the  orders  of  the  petty  despot ;  yet  this  poor  fel 
low  fell  a  victim,  as  some  one  must  be  shot,  at  intervals, 
to  advertise  the  crew,  (a  majority  of  them)  of  that  Hessian 
battalion  (Hoffman's,)  so  they  could  play  the  feather-bed 


s- 


o 


1 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  199 

warriors,  while  the  gallant  soldiers  of  the  United  States 
were  at  the  front.  It  may  have  been  different  at  other 
pens,  but  I  never  knew  an  old  soldier  to  maltreat  a  prisoner. 
Courage  and  humanity,  are  synonymous,  and  the  coward 
is  always  cruel.  Lieutenant  Gibson  had  been  spending 
the  afternoon  with  a  comrade,  some  twenty  steps  from 
his  quarters,  and  on  hearing  the  signal  for  retreat,  hastily 
returned  to  Ins  room,  and  had  one  foot  on  the  threshold, 
when  the  assassin  hailed  him  with  the  expletive,  "  You 
d — d  rebel,  go  back  to  your  quarters."  "  I'm  going  to 
them  now ;  these  are  my  quarters,"  stopping  for  a  moment 
to  answer  the  sentinel,  who  had  his  gun  leveled  at  him. 
"Go  back  to  your  quarters,  I  tell  you,  you  d — d  rebel." 
Lieutenant  Gibson,  whose  body  was  inclined  towards  the 
sentinel,  turned  to  step  in,  and  without  warning,  was  shot 
down ;  the  entire  charge,  a  double  one,  entering  his  body. 
This  act  of  cruelty  and  crime,  places  the  miscreant,  who 
has  proved  himself  a  willing  tool,  in  the  line  of  promotion. 

Since  writing  the  above,  we  learn  that  the  author  of 
this  damnable  outrage,  has  been  promoted  to  a  sergeantcy. 
And  they  say,  we  are  well  treated.  Heaven  save  the  mark  ! 

There  are  but  few  of  my  fellow  prisoners  who  are  not 
interested,  when  the  sound  of  "big  gate"  attracts  them  to 
the  doors  and  windows.  It  may  admit  "fresh  fish,"  an 
appellation  given  new  comers,  or  the  wood  wfagon ; 
possibly  some  angel  in  female  form,  that  comes  to  ad 
minister  to  the  wants  of  the  sick  and  dying.  The  sutler, 
milk  and  ice  men  all  come  through  the  big  gate.  We 
came  through  it,  and  wye  hope  soon  to  go  out  through 
it's  portals,  as  'tis  the  living  alone  who  shadow  this  gate ; 
the  dead  are  hauled  out  the  side  gate.  The  grass  seems 
greener  beyond  the  big  gate  than  within,  and  we  would 
risk  our  blood  upon  its  lintels,  to  once  again  taste  the  air 
of  freedom  that  so  invitingly  bids  us  make  the  attempt 
without  the  prison  walls.  The  mail  with  its  letters  and 
remittances  from  loved  ones  ;  the  newspapers  with  their 
many  fictions,  all  come  through  this  opening.  And  now, 
while  writing  this,  the  stentorian  announcement  is  made 
"big  gate,"  and  we  go  with  the  rest  to  see  what  comes 
next. 


200  SCRAPS  FKOM  THE  PRISON.  TABLE. 

They  stole  not " my  purse,"  nor  "my  child  away,"  nor 
4 'o'er  me  gently,"  but  with  malice  aforethought  against 
the  peace  and  dignity  of  our  mess,  they  purloined  my 
spirits,  presented  with  other  good  things  by  that  most 
estimable  woman  and  humane  dispenser  of  the  charities 
of  life,  Mrs.  H.  I.  Spotts  of  Kentucky,  and  added  insult 
to  injury,  by  sending  in  the  bottles  filled  with  water. 
The  prisoner  can  imagine  the  look  of  disappointment 
that  clouded  the  brows  of  the  mess,  with  whom  I  had 
proposed  enjoying  the  et  ceteras,  on  the  discovery  of  the 
fraud.  I  appealed  to  Major  Pierson,  whose  answer  was 
laconic : 

"I  can't  help  it,  sir,  the  boys  will  steal  whiskey,  and 
besides,  sir,  it  is  contraband." 

"Well,  major,  if  the  article  is  contraband,  confiscate 
it  in  a  legitimate  manner,  but  don't  allow  your  rascally 
mbs  to  practice  their  little  tricks  upon  us." 

"Never  mind,  captain,  I'll  send  you  a  bottle  of 
whiskey  to-morrow." 

The  morrow  came,  and  in  came  the  bottle,  and  while 
preparing  to  open  it,  our  gallant  friend,  Captain  Hooper 
Harris,  passed  the  window.  "Come  in,  Harris,  and  join 
us,"  which  was  promptly  responded  to,  as  the  susceptible 
Harris  had  sniifed  the  odor  of  the  beverage  as  the  war- 
horse  the  battle  afar.  Courtesy  prompted  offering  the 
captain  the  first  smile,  which  on  raising  to  his  lips  pro 
duced  an  exclamation  of  wrath : 

"Confound  old  Pierson  B — ,  he  has  sent  you  a  bottle 
of  the  twelve  stolen  from  me.  Robbing  Peter  to  pay 
Paul.  Chorus — let's  swallow  the  insult." 

And  we  did,  but  the  palliative  was  not  sufficient  to 
make  us  forget  the  peccadillo  of  the  cerulean  individual, 
who  threw  cold  water,  by  the  bottle-full,  on  our  hopes  of 
a  social  re-union  with  spirits,  not  of  the  Fox-sisters. 

Personal  difficulties  among  brother  officers,  are  the  ex 
ception  ;  yet  at  times  they  wrill  occur,  and  our  custodians 
being  aware  of  it,  pay  but  little  attention  to  the  confusion 
incidental  to  a  "set  to"  that  after  a  few  blows,  is  usually 
terminated  by  the  interference  of  the  friends  of  the  par 
ties.  Last  Sabbath  morning,  the  startling  announcement 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        201 

was  echoed  through,  "the  pen,  "  man  killed.  "  When  V" 
and  "  who  by  ?"  was  the  general  exclamation,  as  all  rushed 
to  the  spot,  where  a  large  crowd  had  assembled,  in  front 
.of  the  building  where  the  gunboat-men  quartered,  one  of 
the  most  rollicking  messes  in  prison.  It  being  a  lovely 
morning,  Hoffman's  battalion,  in  their  Sunday  uniforms, 
prepared  for  inspection,  were  'covering  the  roofs  of  all 
buildings  outside  the  walls,  with  their  "  cerulean  abdo 
mens,"  anxious  to  see  wrhat  was  going  on — yet  in  dread 
of  a  stray  shot  from  an  officer  of  the  guard.  One  of  their 
officers,  more  courageous  than  the  rest,  stepped  up,  and 
the  familiar  sound  of  ubig  gate"  ushered  him  in. 

"  What's  the  matter,  boys  ?" 

"  O,  nothing  ;  but  a  man  killed." 

"  Who  was  he,  and  what  was  he  killed  for  ?"  said  the 
nervous  lieutenant. 

"  O,  dog-on  him  ;  he  was  a  traitor,  going  to  take  that 
oath,  that  old  Pierson  says  some-  four  hundred  of  us  will 
take — so  they  told  him.  Even  old  Pierson  himself  had 
to  whistle  when  he  told  that  whopper  ;  and  the  boys  are 
so  disgusted  with  the  traitor,  they  thought  they  would 
kill  him  ;  'that  what's  the  matter.'" 

"  Why,  that's  awful.  This  thing  shall  not  go  on.  The 
entire  power  of  our  force  shall  be  called  in  requisition,  if 
necessary,  to  check  such  outrages." 

"  O,  Let  cm  rip,  lieutenant.  Don't  you  know,  that 
traitors  don't  do  any  good  ?  Kill  'em  lieutenant,  kill 
'em — that's  the  document." 

"  You  are  savage,  sir.  I  will  examine  into  this  matter 
at  once,"  says  the  now  really  excited  lieutenant,  moving 
quietly  towards  the  front. 

On  reaching  the  margin  of  the  crowd,  he  discovered 
traces  of  unfeigned  vengeance  on  the  lineaments  of  each 
Confederate,  and  asking,  tremulously,  "  Where  the  body 
was  ?" — was  answered,  in  the  house.  At  that  moment,  a 
mournful  procession  was  seen  issuing  from  the  building  ; 
six  officers  bearing  the  body  upon  a  board,  that  served  as 
a  mess  table ;  a  slouched  hat  covered  the  face,  and  a 
blanket,  marked  U.  S.?  gave  it  a  national  winding  sheet. 
The  horrified  officer  could  stand  it  no  longer  ;  but  rush- 
14 


202  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON*  TABLE. 

ing  into  the  circle,  demanded  the  name  of  the  murderer  ; 
and  placing  his  hand  upon  the  board,  with  the  air  of 
"  Richard,"  "  Put  down  the  corpse  ;"  upon  which  a  loud 
cheer  burst  from  a  hundred  throats,  as  the  two  sticks  of 
wood,  blanket,  old  hat,  and  plank  fell,  nearly  rendering 
the  lieutenant  "  notoerious."  The  lieutenant  turned  away 
chop-fallen,  with  the  remark  :  "  You  boys  will  have  your 
fun  ;"  and  the  gun-boat  mess  always  did,  and  ever  will,  in 
prison  or  elsewhere. 

If  there  ever  was  a  more  devil-mi-care  set  of  men  in 
the  world,  than  the  mess,  in  which  figured  Tom  Kirtland 
and  Harry  Hedden,  they  are  found  out  of  Johnson's 
island.  The  dinner  hour,  of  this  mess,  is  frantically  an 
nounced  by  each  member  rushing  to  an  outlet,  and  with 
the  aid  of  tin  plates,  in  the  absence  of  tom-toms  and 
whang-doodles,  proclaim,  not  like  the  Khan  of  Tartary, 
"I  am  finished,  the  other  kings  of  the  earth  can  dine;" 
but  like  so  many  howling  dervishes,  yell  out  grub,  and 
with  a  clamor  'that  would  do  justice  to  an  army  of  China 
men,  whose  prowess  is  in  their  lungs  and  gongs,  wind  up 
with  a  deafening  " tiger'"  then  take  their  stand  at  the 
sumptuous  repast.  But  with  all  their  jocoseness  of  jocu 
larity,  there  is  not  a  more  subordinate  mess  to  prison 
rules  in  the  pen,  nor  a  mess  where  the  social  amenities  of 
life  are  better  comprehended,  and  in  the  instance  we 
speak  of,  no  harm  was  dreamed  of,  much  less  intended. 
It  seems,  one  of  the  gentlemen  had  placed  his  best  coat, 
(a  black  one,)  against  the  window,  to  protect  the  occu 
pants  of  the  room  from  the  rays  and  intense  heat  of  a 
summer's  sun.  The  coat  was  pendant  about  ten  minutes, 
when  crash  came  a  stone  against  the  window,  another, 
and  another,  followed  by  a  volley ;  and  amid  the  racket 
of  the  missiles,  could  be  heard  the  voice  of  an  irate  Teu 
ton  ;  "  Mein  Gott !  dat  ish  te  plack  flag  ;  down  mit  de 
repels,  and  tree  cheers  for  te  Onion."  The  uproar  soon 
became  of  a  character  to  excite  apprehension,  as  the  vali 
ant  Sanduskians  knowing  us  to  be  unarmed,  had  made 
daily  threats  to  mob  us,  and,  I  am  confident,  they  would 
have  done  so,  had  they  the  courage.  After  finding, 
that  the  noisy  crowd  in  their  front  had  taken  their  coat 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  203 

tor  a  black  flag,  the  mess  hauled  down  their  colors ;  on 
which  the  firing  ceased,  with  a  wild  huzza  for  "  de  stars 
ant  stripes,  dat  bully  old  rag,"  as  viewed  through  a  glass 
for  the  tenth  time  of  swei  lager. 

After  this  emeute  on  the  part  of  the  picnicians,  black 
coats  were  at  a  discount  on  festal  days.  The  impression 
of  the  mess  is,  that  the  attack  was  an  exhibition  of  drunken 
spite,  rather  than  loyalty ;  and  the  black  coat  was  used 
as.  a  pretext,  by  ruffians,  to  stone  unarmed  and  defenseless 
prisoners,  which,  had  they  numbers  and  spunk,  might 
possibly  have  terminated  in  murder. 


204  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


KAVAL  ENGAGEMENT  AT  MEMPHIS.— LIST  OF  OFFICERS  AND  BOATS.— 
COMMAND  UNDER  COMMODORE  J.  E.  MONTGOMERY.—"  LOG  "  OF  THE 
GUN-BOAT  "PRICE,"  BY  L.  F.  DELISDEMIER  — THE  WOMEN^  OF  LOU- 
ISVILLE.-MRS.  H.  I.  SPOTTS. -MRS.  DAVIDLOONEY. -ANDREW  JOHN 
SON. -CAPTAIN  J.  M.  WINSTEAD.-CAMP  CHAsE,  OHIO.-AN  INCI 
DENT  AT  CAMP  CHASE.— ATTEMPT  TO  ESCAPE  AT  CAMP  CHASE.- 
OLD  MEN  AT  CAMP  CHASE— CAMP  CHASE— HOW  SITUATED.— MRS. 
JUDGE  CLARK,  OF  OHIO.— DR.  CLIFF.— MRS.  HARR 1  H.  HEDDEN. 

OUR  gim-boat  flotilla  arrived  at  Memphis,*  on  the  even 
ing  of  the  5th  of  June,  1862,  to  await  the  arrival  of 
the  Federal  fleet,  which  came  down  about  9  o'clock  of  the 
same  evening,  and  laid  on  "  Paddy's  Hen  and  Chickens," 
in  sight  of  Memphis.  On  being  informed  of  this,  our  com 
modore  sent  up  a  small  tug,  in  charge  of  Captain  Bennett, 
as  a  picket.  13y  some  mismanagement,  she  got  aground, 
on  the  foot  of  the  island,  and  she  could  not  be  got  off 
with  her  own  power ;  consequently  the  torch  was  applied, 
and  she  was  left  to  her  fate  in  flames.  Nothing  more 
of  importance  happened  during  the  night,  but  the  general 
understanding  with  all  the  fleet  was,  that  we  would  not 
make  a  stand. 

After  daylight,  on  the  morning  of  the  6th,  we  could  see 
by  the  movements  of  the  enemy,  that  they  were  making 
preparations  to  come  down,  for  the  Heavens  were  one 
solid  cloud  of  black  smoke.  In  the  .meantime,  we  were 
not  idle  in  making  preparations  to  back  out  in  the  stream, 
which  we  did,  one  after  another,  until  our  whole  fleet, 
eight  in  number,  were  drawn  in  line  of  battle.  It  was 

*  The  account  of  the  naval  fight  at  Memphis,  is  from  the  hands  of  the  gal 
lant  Captain  J.  Henry  Hart. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  205 

here  we  received  the  first  intelligence,  that  we  were  going 
to  make  a  stand.  The  enemy  was  now  in  full  view, 
coming  down  in  line  of  battle.  The  following  boats  were 
sent  up,  to  draw  the  Federal  gun-boats  off  of  the  bar : 
General  M.  Jeff  Thompson,  Sumpter,  General  Beaure- 
gard,  and  Colonel  Lovell,  from  the  fact  that  they  had 
sixty-four-pound  guns  mounted  on  their  bows.  The  fire 
was  opened  by  the  Thompson,  but  not  until  she  had 
fired  three  rounds,  did  the  enemy  make  any  reply.  The 
fire  on  the  Federal  side  was  opened  by  the  flag-ship 
Benton.  The  fight  now  became  general.  Brisk  firing 
from  both  sides,  was  the  order  of  the  day.  It  was  while 
the  battle  was  raging  with  intense  fury,  between  our  rams 
and  the  Federal  gun-boats,  that  their  rams  made  their 
appearance  ;  first  came  the  Queen  of  the  West,  which 
made  a  bee-line  for  the  Colonel  Lovell,  which  tried  to 
back  out  of  the  way,  but  in  so  doing,  got  in  such  a  posi 
tion,  as  to  show  her  opponent  a  broad-side,  when  she  run 
into  her,  and  sunk  her  immediately,  in  water  her  hurri 
cane  deck,  in  the  channel  of  the  river.  Life-boats  were 
immediately  dispatched  from  the  Little  Rebel,  to  assist  her 
crew  in  getting  ashore.  Before  the  Queen  of  the  West 
could  regain  her  position,  the  Confederate  ram  Sumpter 
struck  her  in  midships,  sending  her  ashore,  during  the 
balance  of  the  engagement.  Next  came  the  Switzerland, 
bearing  down  on  the  Sumpter.  The  Beauregard  next  in 
turn  singled  out  the  Switzerland,  for  her  antagonist.  The 
Federal  ram,  seeing  her  intention,  drew  off  from  the 
Sumpter,  and  headed  down  on  the  Beauregard  ;  they 
struck  head  on,  but  glanced,  placing  the  Switzerland  Aors 
du  combat,  knocking  down  her  bridge-tree,  when  she  had 
to  go  ashore,  where  she  threw  out  her  sharp-shooters  as 
pickets.  Next  came  the  Federal  ram  Monarch,  in  chase 
of  the  Jeff  Thompson,  she  at  the  same  time  rounding  to, 
head  up  stream,  followed  by  the  Monarch  ;  here  the 
General  Price  was  put  under  a  heavy  head  of  steam,  to 
overtake  the  Monarch,  which  she  did,  striking  her  a  heavy 
blow  in  the  starboard  quarter,  driving  in  her  hull,  and 
rounding  her  to,  after  which  she  stopped  to  back  around  and 
give  her  another  blow;  but,  unfortunately,  the  Beauregard 


206  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

bad  made  a  dash  at  the  Monarch,  and  missed  her  object, 
and  striking  the  Price  on  the  port-side,  completely  dis 
abling  her.  During  this,  with  only  one  wheel  left,  she 
managed  to  get  ashore,  but  too  late  for  the  crew  to  make 
their  escape  ;  disabled  as  she  was,  the  enemy  kept  up  a 
constant  fire  into  her  ;  for  humanity's  sake,  the  "  star^ 
and  bars"  were  hauled  down.  It  was  about  this  time, 
the  Beauregard  got  headed  up  again  to  meet  another  of 
her  adversaries,  when  a  shell  was  shot  into  her  hull  and 
burst,  damaging  her  boilers  and  hull ;  killed  one  engineer, 
and  wounding  three  others,  and  scalding  three  firemen. 
She  was  unfit  for  duty,  floated  down  the  river  about  one- 
fourth  of  a  mile,  and  sunk  in  twenty  feet  water,  face  to 
the  enemy,  and  colors  flying.  It  was  about  this  time,  the 
Little  Rebel  made  a  dash  at  one  of  the  rams  ;  but  before 
she  could  reach  her,  received  a  shot  in  her  boilers,  when 
she  kept  her  course  into  the  shore,  where  all  but  three 
made  their  escape.  In  the  meantime,  the  Sumpter  had 
been  run  ashore,  and  crew  all  escaped ;  also  the  Thomp 
son  was  run  ashore,  and  burned  to  the  water's  edge.  The 
General  Bragg  stood  off  and  looked  at  the  fight,  likewise 
the  General  Earl  Van  Dorn  ;  neither  offering  any  assist 
ance.  The  Bragg,  in  attempting  to  round  to,  to  make 
good  her  retreat,  was  run  into  by  one  of  the  Federal  rams, 
which  drove  in  her  side.  The  crew  of  the  Bragg  nearly 
all  made  their  escape  in  yawls  and  life-boats.  The  Van 
Dorn,  handling  much  better  than  the  Bragg,  was  fortu 
nate  in  making  good  her  escape.  Thus  ended  one  of  the 
hottest  naval  engagements  ever  fought  in  the  Mississippi. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  principal  officers,  as  far  as 
we  can  ascertain : 

Earl  Van  Dorn. — Captain,  Isaac  Fulkerson ;  Purser, 
Charles  Reynolds  ;  First  Officer,  John  W.  Jordan  ;  Sec 
ond  Officer,  John  Mardis  ;  Chief  Engineer,  Wm.  Hurst : 
First  Assistant  Engineer,  John  Swift,  William  Camon 
and  William  Molloy. 

General  Sterling  Price. — Captain,  Thomas  E.  Hen- 
thorn  ;  Purser,  L.  F.  Delisdemier;  First  Officer,  N.  J. 
Henthorn  ;  Second  Officer,  George  L.  Richardson  ;  Chief 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE         207 

Engineer,  William  Brauden  ;  First  Assistant  Engineers, 
William  Orin,  W.  W.  Hayden  and  Oscar  Postall. 

General  Btauregard. — Captain  J.  Henry  Hurt ;  Pur 
ser,  J.  C.  Haynes ;  First  Officer,  R.  D.  Court ;  Second 
Officer,  John  Rawson ;  Chief  Engineer,  Joseph  Swift ; 
First  Assistant,  Edward  Connolly;  Pilot,  J.  Pope  Altram. 

General  Bragg. — Captain  W.  H.  H.  Leonard  ;  Purser, 
William  Riply ;  First  and  Second  Officers,  names  un 
known  ;  Chief  Engineer,  John  Porter  ;  First  Assistant 
Engineer,  Henry  Sisson  ;  Pilot,  James  Russel. 

Sumpter. — Captain  Wallace  W.  Lamb  ;  Purser,  John 
Wilbanks ;  First  Officer,  Lemuel  Murray  ;  Second  Offi 
cer,  name  unknown ;  Chief  Engineer,  Robert  T.  Patter 
son  ;  First  Assistant  Engineer,  John  Ramsey ;  Pilots, 
Thad  Siederburg  and  Moses  Gray. 

Little  Rebel.— Captain  J.  White  Fowler;  Purser,  Chas. 
Smedly ;  First  Officer,  James  Wall ;  Second  Officer, 
name  unknown  ;  Chief  Engineer,  Grus  Mann ;  First  As 
sistant  Engineer,  William  Reeder ;  Pilots,  Newton  Pue 
and  John  Bernard. 

General  M.  Jeff  Thompssn. — Captain,  John  Burk  ; 
Purser,  James  Bissell ;  First  Officer,  Louis  Camfield ; 
Second  Officer,  Henry  Moore ;  Chief  Engineer,  Thomas 
Mitchell ;  Pilots,  Barney  Arnold  and  Daniel  Thomas. 

General  .Lovell. — Captain  James  C.  Dellaney  ;  Purser, 
Hardy ;  First  Officer,  Thomas  Johnson  ;  Pilot,  William 
Cable. 

Commodore  of  the  fleet,  J.  E.  Montgomery. 

The  Federal  fleet  consisted  of  sixteen  mortar-boats,  six 
rams,  and  eight  gun-boats,  besides  any  number  of  tugs 
and  transports." 

The  cause  of  our  disaster  at  Memphis,  was  from  a  series 
of  incidentals  to  the  campaign  on  the  Mississippi.  The 
original  occupation  of  Columbus,  was  a  stragetic  stroke 
of  policy.  The  advance  of  the  gun-boats  did  not  intimi 
date,  and  we  continued  to  hold  Columbus.  The  advance 
of  the  enemy's  land  forces,  on  the  opening  of  the  Tennes 
see  river,  by  which  Columbus  would  be  outflanked, 
compelled  the  evacuation  of  that  point.  We  fell  back  to 
Island  Ten,  to  there  check  the  gun-boats,  while  our  land 


208  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON*TABLE. 

forces,  assisted  by  gun-boats,  held  in  check  General  Pope's 
grand  army,  at  New  Madrid.  The  occupation  of  Point 
Pleasant,  and  its  fortifications,  by  the  enemy,  by  which 
transportation  was  cut  off,  and  our  gun-boats  would  be 
compelled  to  go  below,  involved  the  evacuation  of  New 
Madrid,  which  was  a  good  movement  in  its  conception, 
but  badly  executed,  in  a  slovenly  manner,  ill  becoming 
the  commander  that  directed  it.  But  instead  of  falling 
back,  we  advanced  into  the  enemy's  lines,  and  we  were 
all  moved  to  Island  Ten.  This  we  continued  to  hold, 
although  outflanked  by  the  enemy,  on  both  flanks,  and 
it  was  held  until  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  when  we  were  sur 
rendered.  This  gallant  little  band,  after  suffering  many 
privations,  had  to  yield  to  a  military  necessity,  and  were 
given  up.  The  surrender  of  Island  Ten  compelled  the 
Confederate  forces  to  fall  back  to  Fort  Pillow,  so  as  to 
keep  up  a  corresponding  line  with  their  land  forces,  as  all 
armies,  when  occupying  positions,  if  a  flank  is  thrown  for 
ward,  hold  theis  position,  until  sustained  by  the  other  flank 
or  the  centre.  This  is  a  rule,  advancing  or  retreating. 
When  our  army  withdrew  from  Corinth  into  the  Missis 
sippi,  our  fleet  should  have  retired  to  Yicksburg,  and  thus 
under  its  guns  sustained  the  line  of  defense.  The  battle 
of  Memphis  ought  not  to  have  been  fought,  and  when  it 
was,  it  ought  to  have  had  the  presence  of  the  entire  Con 
federate  fleet ;  and  as  it  was  badly  managed,  defeat  was  a 
consequence,  and  the  brave  and  gallant  men,  many  who 
are  in  prison  with  us,  and  whose  names  I  have  given,  suf 
fered  a  defeat  that  there  was  no  necessity  for.  The  boats 
were  manned  by  daring  crews,  commanded  by  hardy 
officers,  as  dashing  men  as  we  have  in  the  Confederate 
service,  and  they  had  every  element  to  insure  victory,  in 
an  engagement  with  an  enemy  upon  equal  footing,  and 
would  have  been  willing  to  have  fought  them  with  one  to 
two ;  but  they  could  not  fight  a  fleet  of  (16)  mortar-boats, 
(6)  rams,  and  (8)  gun-boats,  and  innumerable  tugs  and 
transports,  opposed  to  some  half  dozen  gun-boats  and 
rams  successfully.  It  was  a  terrific  fight,  and  right  gal 
lantly  did  our  heroes  of  the  Mississippi  sustain  their 
reputation  for  chivalry ;  for  in  spite  of  the  great  disparity 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  209 

and  the  fearful  odds,  they  went  in,  death  staring  them 
in  the  face.  Yet  they  were  not  conquered,  for  there  were 
no  dastards  there, — and  the  brave  fellows,  who  went  down 
in  the  grand  struggle,  we  can  say  in  the  applicable  lines  of 
the  author  of  the  eulogy  on  Lawrence :  "  If  the  Phaeten 
and  horses  of  fire  had  been  destined  for  their  translation, 
they  could  hardly  have  departed  in  a  brighter  blaze  of 
glory."  But  they  have  been  sacrificed  to  appease  the 
wratk  of  the  God  of  war,  and  to  show  the  bad  manage 
ment  of  an  affair  so  nobly  and  obstinately  fought,  yet  for 
no  purpose,  unless  to  show  the  Federals,  how  the  gallant 
South  can  fight,  can  suffer,  die,  for  Liberty  and  Inde 
pendence. 

I  have  formed  the  personal  acquaintance  of  several  of 
the  officers  of  the  fleet,  who  are  as  courteous  and  as  soci 
able  as  they  are  fearless ;  and  to  I.  Pope  Oldham, 
one  of  the  most  popular  officers  in  the  valley,  and  to  Cap 
tain  Hurt,  a  polished  cavalier,  I  tender  my  thanks,  for 
their  information  so  kindly  furnished. 

(LOG*  OP  THE  "PRICE,"  FROM  NEW  ORLEANS  TO  MEMPHIS.) 

March  25th,  Tuesday,  1862. — Left  New  Orleans  at  9 
P.  M.,  with  the  following  officers:  J.  H.  Townsend,  cap 
tain  ;  T.  E.  Henthorn,  first  officer  ;  L.  F.  Delisdemier, 
purser;  George  L.  Hichardson,  second  officer;  William 
Broaden,  chief  engineer ;  J.  H.  Frobees,  Assistant  do. 

March  2St/i. — Laid  up  last  night,  on  account  of  fog  ; 
left  Red  river  at  10  A.  M.  ;  passed  the  General  Bragg 
to-day. 

Saturday,  29/A. — Arrived  at  Vicksburg,  at  4  p.  M., 
and  found  the  Bragg  had  stopped  here  ;  left  at  5.30  P.  M.; 
found  no  iron  there.  Weather  pleasant. 

Monday,  Jjlstf. — Arrived  at  Eunice,  at  8  P.  M.  In 
formed  the  railroad  agent,  that  we  wanted  some  iron. 
He  said,  he  had  none.  Our  captain  then  told  him,  he 

*  Written  by  L.  F.  Delisdemier,  purser  of  the  General  Sterling;  Price.  The 
Log  of  the  Price  and  the  engagement  is  published  complimentary  to  the  boat 
men  of  the  Mibsissippl,  many  of  whom  composed  the  officers  and  crew  of  the 
flotilla,  whose  gallantry  ou  the  6th  of  June,  1862,  is  historic,  proving  that 
steamboat  men,'  as  a  class,  are  the  most  chivalric  uaeu  in  the  world. 


210  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

would  have  to  tear  np  his  track,  and  set  the  men  at  it, 
and  soon  had  some  three  miles  torn  up  and  ready  to  carry 
on  board. 

Thursday,  April  3d.— Left  Eunice  yesterday  afternoon, 
.after  getting  on  board  all  the  iron  that  we  wanted  to 
finish  the  Price  and  Van  Dorn.  Arrived  at  Memphis  at 
3  P.  M.  ;  found  the  Brago;  had  arrived  yesterday  after 
noon.  At  4  P.  M.  the  Van  Dorn  came  up.  Captain 
Townsend,  being  senior  captain,  set  all  available  men  at 
work,  to  finish  the  boats  as  soon  as  possible. 

Friday,  April  llth. — Weather  rainy.  Received  order 
to  leave  for  Fort  Pillow.  Got  two  pilots  to-day,  viz  :  W. 
W.  Hayden  and  Oscar  Postall.  Left  Memphis  at  6.30 

P.  M. 

Saturday,  April  12. — Arrived  at  the  fort,  and  reported 
to  the  General  at  6.30  A.  M.,  and  then  dropped  down  to 
coal.  Orders  were  sent  down,  for  us  to  escort  the  trans 
port  Lockland  up  the  river  on  a  foraging  expedition.  We 
started  at  5  P.  M.  ;  left  orders  for  the  Van  Dorn  to  follow 
us.  Those  of  Hollins'  fleet  went  up  ahead  of  us;  passed 
them  at  11  P.  M.  at  anchor  near  Island  No.  25.  As  soon 
as  we  rounded  the  bend  saw  a  United  States  transport, 
and  gave  her  chase.  She  either  heard  us,  or  saw  our 
smoke,  and  started  up  the  river.  We  chased  her  about 
eight  miles,  when  she  met  the  Federal  fleet,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Obion  river. 

Sunday,  13t/i,  1  A.  M. — Sent  a  note  to  Captain  Huger, 
flag  oflicer  on  the  McRea,  notifying  him  of  the  presence 
of  the  enemy.  At  5  A.  M.  received  his  answer,  that  he 
would  be  along  after  daylight ;  8.30  the  look-outs  report 
the  fleet  coming  up;  dropped  out  into  the  stream,  and 
formed  in  line  of  battle,  and  stood  up  to  meet  the  enemy : 
and  when  within  three  miles  of  us,  the  United  States  gun 
boat  Benton  opened  on  us  :  her  shot  fell  short.  The  Con 
federate  States  gun-boat  Maurepas  replied  to  her  from  a 
nine-inch  Dahlgreen,  also  falling  short.  The  Federals 
now  showed  their  whole  fleet,  consisting  of  eleven  gun 
boats  and  eight  mortars.  So  Captain  Huger,  knowing 
it  to  be  folly  to  contend  with  them,  left  us  alone  with 
them.  We  then  rounded  to,  and  waited  until  the  enernv 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        211 

came  within  two  miles,  and  let  them  have  the  contents 
of  our  stern  guns,  and  then  we  went  after  the  balance  of 
the  fleet.  The  Yankees  followed  us,  and  kept  up  a  run 
ning  firing,  but  without  any  damage.  We  arrived  at  the 
fort  at  11.30,  and  reported  the  fleet  coming  down.  The 
guns  were  immediately  manned,  and  all  waited  for  the 
appearance  of  the  fleet.  At  halt-past  two  they  made 
their  appearance,  but  only  exchanged  a  few  shots,  rounded 
to,  and  went  up  the  river  about  six  miles. 

Monday,  the  \kth. — This  morning  the  Federals  opened 
fire  on  the  fort,  end  every  fifteen  minutes  they  gave  three 
shells.  The  bombardment  was  kept  up  till  9  P,  M.  A 
scouting  party  from  our  boat  and  the  Van  Dorn,  under 
command  of  First  Officer  T.  E.  Hen  thorn,  went  out  this 
morning  on  the  Arkansas  shore,  and  went  within  six 
hundred  yards  of  the  Federal  fleet,  and  report  them 
forming  in  line  of  battle  and  dropping  down  stream,  stern 
foremost. 

10  P.  M. — No  demonstration  been  made  by  the  fleet  as 
yet. 

April  15th,  Tuesday.—  First  Officer  T.  E.  Henthorn, 
with  a  paity  of  thirteen  men  and  officers  from  the  R.  1). 
fleet,  have  gone  out  again  this  morning.  The  bombard 
ment  was  renewed  at  an  early  hour  this  morning,  and 
has  been  kept  up  at  regular  intervals  of  ten  minutes. 
They  have  three  mortar-boats  in  position,  at  the  distance 
of  three  and  a  half  miles,  and  lay  around  a  point  opposite 
the  fort. 

10  P.  M. — The  firing  ceased  at  8  P.  M.  The  scouting 
party  have  just  returned  ;  report  three  men  captured  at 
Mr.  Lamies',  by  Federal  mounted  infantry  ;  were  chased 
by  a  party,  but  made  their  escape. 

Wednesday,  \Qt/i  April. — Went  down  to  Mr.  Lamies, 
and  moved  him  and  family  on  board  of  steamer  trans 
port  Charm,  and  sent  them  below,  under  convoy  of  the 
Bragg.  A  party  ot  fifty  "  Feds"  came  down  last  night, 
to  capture  one  of  our  boats,  but  not  finding  us,  they 
returned  at  daylight.  This  morning,  a  party  of  United 
States  soldiers  appearing  in  sight,  gave  them  a  few  rounds 
of  grape.  Scouts  report  fifteen  men  killed  and  wounded : 


212  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PEISON  T^.BLE. 

burnt  ninety  bales  unginned  cotton,  and  thirty  bales  of 
cotton. 

April  \lth. — Went  down  and  moved  Mr.  Morgan  to 

a  place  of  safety. 

#**-#*••** 

May  St/i  (Thursday). — The  bombardment  has  been 
kept  up  day  by  day,  but  no  damage  done  ;  loss  two  killed. 
This  morning,  the  Sumpter,  Bragg  and  Van  Dorn  were 
ordered  to  go  up  and  cut  out  the  mortar  floats.  Arrived 
at  the  Held  where  they  had  been  posted,  but  found  they 
had  been  moved  up  to  the  fleet.  The  Sumpter  remained 
there  until  9  A.  M. ;  the'Federals  firing  a  few  shot  at  her, 
but  did  not  come  down.  She  returned  at  10  A.  M.  The 
mortars  were  then  brought  down,  and  commenced  a  furi 
ous  bombardment,  throwing  over  two  hundred  and  fifty 
shells,  but  most  of  them  fell  short. 

Saturday,  May  the  Wt/i. — Agreeably  to  the  decision 
of  the  council  of  war,  held  yesterday,  the  fleet  left  their 
moorings  at  7  A.  M.,  and  the  several  positions  in  line  of 
battle,  as  follows  :  The  Bragg,  Sumpter,  Sterling  Price, 
Van  Dorn,  Jeft  Thompson,  General  Lovell,  Beauregard, 
and  Little  Rebel.  On  rounding  the  point,  the  Federal 
fleet  was  plainly  visible  in  ''Bulletin  Bar,"  with  the  ex 
ception  of  the  Cincinnati,  who  had  come  down  as  a  pro 
tection  to  the  mortar,  but  made  (as  soon  as  we  appeared) 
for  the  balance  of  the  fleet.  According  to  orders,  the 
Bragg  immediately  gave  her  chase,  and  soon  overtook 
her,  striking  her  a  violent  blow  on  the  larboard  bow,  dis 
mounting  one  of  her  forward  guns  and  slewing  her  round. 
The  Cincinnati  flred  a  broad-side  into  the  Bragg,  one 
shot  going  through  her,  killing  a  cook.  The  Price  next 
in  turn  started  for  her,  and  at  the  same  time  delivering 
an  effective  at  the  mortar,  silencing  it.  The  Cincinnati 
kept  a  running  fire,  as  the  Price  kept  away  from  her, 
rtoon  overtaking  her,  and  struck  her  oft  a  little  starboard 
of  midship,  carrying  away  her  rudder  and  stern  post  dis 
abling  ;  the  Sumpter  carne  up  soon  after,  and  also  struck 
her,  and  she  then  drifted  on  the  bar  and  sunk.  The  Van 
Dorn  in  the  meantime  had  come  up.  Those  of  the  Fed 
eral  fleet  came  down  to  the  assistance  of  the  Cincinnati, 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        213 

and  surrounded  the  Van  Dorn,  who  made  a  sudden  dash 
at  the  Mount  City,  striking  her  a  midships,  driving  in 
her  hull  about  six  feet,  causing  her  to  leak  badly  ;  but  as 
the  Federal  gun-boats  are  all  built  in  water-tight  com 
partments,  it  was  some  time  before  she  sank  ;  she  was 
able  to  make  the  bank.  The  United  States  gun-boat 
Pittsburg  was  disabled,  by  getting  between  the  fires  of 
the  two  fleets.  The  firing  between  both  fleets  was  rapid 
and  heavy,  and  our  boats  were  struck  several  times,  doing 
some  damage  to  the  cabins,  but  only  one  was  damaged  in 
the  hull,  and  that  was  the  General  Price,  who  received  a 
shell  (128  pounds)  between  wind  and  water,  cutting  oft' 
the  supply  pipes  and  causing  her  to  leak.  As  the  "  Feds  " 
had  drawn  off  in  to  shoal  water,  where  we  could  not 
reach  them.  Commodore  J.  E.  Montgomery  signaled 
the  fleet  to  retire,  which  was  done  in  good  order,  all 
dropping  down  stream,  below  the  guns  of  the  fort.  The 
total  loss  was  two  killed  ;  but  several  firemen  were 
wounded  with  splinters,  and  one  man  had  his  arm  broken. 
The  only  damage  was  the  upper  works  of  the  Van  Dorn 
and  Price,  with  the  exception  damage  done  the  Price 
reported.  As  soon  as  we  arrived  at  Fulton,  commenced 
to  repair  damages. 

Sunday,  \lth.  —  All  damages  on  our  boats  repaired, 
and  all  ready  for  another  engagement  with  the  enemy. 
At  4  P.  M.  scouts  came  in  from  Osceola,  report  the  loss 
of  the  enemy  to  be  three  boats  sunk,  and  several  killed 
and  wounded.  The  enemy  are  hard  at  work  raising  their 
boats.  The  Little  Rebel  went  up  on  a  reconnoissance 
to-day.  On  her  appearance,  the  Yankees  took  their  mor 
tar  floats  and  started  up  the  river. 


June  3d.  —  The  bombardment  has  been  kept 
up,  but  no  damage  done  to  the  fort.  Second  Officer  John 
C.  Rawson,  and  a  party  of  seven  men,  went  after  ice,  and 
were  captured.  At  3.30  r.  M.,  two  gun-boats  and  three 
rams,  came  down  to  cut  out  the  Jeff  Thompson,  but 
the  fort  opened  on  them,  and  they  retired.  The  Con 
federate  States'  fleet  then  went  up  to  the  fort,  and  were 


214  SCRAPS  FEOM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

actively  employed  in  taking  on  shot  and  shell,  and 
commissary  stores,  as  the  fort  is  to  be  evacuated. 

Wednesday,  June  4z?A,  1862. — The  fort  being  completely 
demolished,  the  fleet  started  down  the  river.  At  Randolph, 
the  Van  Dorn,  got  aground,  and  had  to  send  men  in 
the  woods  to  cut  spars  and  spar  her  off. 

June  6th. — Arrived  at  Memphis,  at  1  P.  M.  9  P.  M. 
all  were  aroused  by  the  report  of  a  cannon,  and  a  rush 
was  made  to  find  out  the  cause,  and  found  the  General 
Lovell  out  in  the  stream,  dropping  down.  Passing  us, 
Captain  Delancy  reported  the  fleet  in  the  bend  above, 
coming  down.  All  then  dropped  out  in  the  stream,  in 
line  of  battle,  but  the  "Feds"  not  making  their  appear 
ance,  returned  to  our  anchorage.  The  tug  Gordan 
Grant,  was  sent  up  as  a  picket  boat,  but  grounded,  and 
had  to  be  burnt. 

"Oh,  woman,  all  must  own  thy  magic  power  ! 

The  sternest  sages  at  thy  altar  kneel ; 
And,  from  the  natal  to  the  final  hour, 

Before  thy  beauty  bend,  and  deeply  feel 
The  essence  from  on  high.    Though  skies  may  lower, 

And  earth  and  heaven  conspire  against  his  weal — 
Alike  unchanged  by  happiness  or  grief, 
Man  ever  from  thy  soothing  finds  relief." 

Mrs.  H.  I.  Spotts,  is  a  true  friend  of  the  South ;  is  the 
wife  of  Captain  Harry  Spotts,  well  known  to  the  deni 
zens  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  She  was  a  Miss  Jane 
"Jennie"  Tunstall,  of  an  old  Kentucky  family,  of 
sprightly  intellect,  and  of  extraordinary  beauty,  being  the 
belle  of  Mississippi,  where  the  author  had  the  pleasure  of 
meeting  her,  in  the  days  of  Auld  Lang  Syne.  Mrs. 
Spotts  is  a  charming  lady,  and  by  her  sympathies,  and 
substantial  assu  ranees,  has  given  ample  evidence  of  her  ' 
appreciation  of  the  virtue  that  exists  in  the  Southern 
struggle  for  independence,  and  we  rank  her  in  the  list  of 
the  true  women  of  the  second  Revolution. 

Mrs.  David  Looney,*  is  an  estimable  lady,  is  a  daughter 
of  the  late  James  Roland,  formerly  of  Kentucky,  late  of 

*  Now  (1868)  residing  in  New  York. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        215 

Memphis,  Tennessee,  and  the  wife  of  Colonel  David 
Looney,  of  Louisville.  She  has  given  a  great  many  evi 
dences  of  her  sympathy  with  the  South,  is  a  thorough 
lad}7,  and  in  every  way  fitted  to  take  her  place  and  have 
her  name  enrolled  upon  the  tablets  of  history,  as  one 
whose  name  is  worthy  to  be  recorded,  as  one  of  the 
women  of  the  second  Revolution.  The  ladies  of  Ken 
tucky,  in  spite  of  the  distraction  of  their  State,  have  stood 
tirm,  and  by  their  example,  have  incited  their  fathers, 
husbands,  brothers,  friends  and  lovers,  to  deeds  of  valor, 
and  stimulated  them  to  enter  the  field,  in  the  defense  of  the 
down-trodden  South.  Yes,  all  honor  to  the  fair  women 
of  Kentucky.  They  have  stood  by  us  in  all  our  distress, 
.and  are  justly  entitled  to  our  grateful  acknowledgments 
for  their  resolution  and  faith.  We  take  much  of  our  in 
spiration  from  fair  woman,  she  who  is  an  incentive  to  gal 
lant  deeds,  (her  smiles  and  her  approvals,)  then  let  ns 
honor  her,  and  be  true  to  ourselves,  and  all  will  be  well. 

Several  of  our  prisoners  have  appealed  to  the  military 
governor  of  Tennessee,  for  a  release  from  durance, 
promising  not  to  take  up  arms  again  during  the  war.  It 
has  been  done  under  excitement,  and  in  a  week,  they  will 
regret  it,  (which  they  have,)  and  as  they  are  heartily 
ashamed  of  it,  we  withold  their  names.  However,  the 
military  governor  of  the  volunteer  State  will  not  pay  any 
attention  to  their  application,  as  he  is  relentless  in  his 
determinations. 

Since  hearing  of  Andrew  Johnson's*  appointment  as 
military  governor,  our  Tennessee  prisoners  have  been 
rather  nervous,  it  being  rumored  he  would  demand  us 
from  the  United  States'  authorities,  and  transfer  us  to  the 
Nashville  penitentiary,  and  there  attend  to  us  at  his 
leisure.  As  for  myself,  his  elevation  has  given  me  an 
attack  of  dyspepsia ;  added  to  the  homoepathic  treatment 
of  the  prison,  yet  in  a  few  days,  I  hope  to  regain  my  wonted 
vigor,  as  I  am  now  in  the  middle  of  my  book,  and  it's 

*The  bold  stand  taken  by  Andrew  Johnson,  in  defence  of  the  Constitution, 
in  1868,  lias  placed  him  in"the  highest  niche  of  the  Southern  heart,  avid  what 
evil  he  afflicted  us  with  in  1862,  is  erased  from  the  tablet  of  memory,  leaving 
stamped  upon  our  minds  Andrew  Johnson,  the  greatest  living  statesman,  the 
unflinching  patriot,  and  the  model  President. 


216  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

necessary  to  keep  a  clear  head,  as  the  modern  reader 
must  have  fresh  "scraps."  Then  again,  Iain  on  the  margin 
of  a  large  body  of  water,  where  there  are  many  shoals 
and  quicksands.  I  must  be  careful  of  my  literary  boat, 
as  all  small  boats  should  keep  near  the  shore.  Men,  too 
often  get  beyond  their  depth,  and  in  attempting  to  sail  in 
fathomless  seas,  are  overwhelmed  and  wrecked.  One 
aspires  to  the  legal  profession,  whose  proper  employment 
should  be  "mauling  rails;"  another  has,  by  a  few  years 
of  speculation,  accumulated  some  thousands,  and  now 
burns  to  become  a  candidate  for  popular  suffrage,  is 
defeated  in  his  aspirations,  becomes  a  political  loafer, 
spends  his  money  for  whiskey, and  is  lost  in  the  whirlpool, 
filled  with  political  pot-house  heroes,  he  is  out  of  money,, 
won't  work,  has  lost  his  influence,  and  has  become  an 
object  of  loathing  to  his  once  warm  political  friends,  who 
could  use  his  money  for  bands  and  banners  and  such  like, 
but  now  being  useless,  is  kicked  out  of  the  circle,  and  goes 
down  while  the  sharp  ones  go  up. 

Another  man  comes  down  the  river  on  a  flat  boat,  (like 
old  Cobb,  of  Jackson  county,  Alabama,  with  a  load  of 
salt.  Many  years  ago,  when  "salt  wns  salt"  it  was  non 
comeatable,  nobody  could  buy  it.  Old  Cobb,  with  that 
strong  generosity  which  he  has  so  frequently  exhibited 
since  in  his  sixteen  years  in  Congress,  told  the  people  to 
take  his  salt  at  cost,  they  were  made  happy,  and  Cobb 
went  to  Congress,  thus  virtually  salting  tkv  district  down. 

It  is  said  of  him,  (when  accused  of  having  voted  on 
both  sides  of  a  question,  by  an  opponent,  who  had  the 
temerity  to  oppose  him,)  that  lie  "acknowledged  the 
corn,"  but  retaliated  by  charging  his  opponent  with 
"  always  voting  wrong,  while  by  his  principles,  he  was 
sure  to  be  right  in  one  instance  or  the  other.") 

But  in  this  instance,  ties  up,  at  the  wharf  of  a  Missis 
sippi  river  town,  sell  his  onions,  apples,  and  whiskey,  at 
handsome  profits,  and  after  a  term  of  years,  is  successful 
beyond  his  most  sanguine  expectations  ;  he  is  uneducated, 
and  of  coarse  manner,  but  honest  and  happy,  lie  be 
comes  ashamed  of  his  boat,  and  rents  a  store  on  the 
batture,  at  last  gets  upon  the  hill,  becomes  a  commercial 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  217 

fixture  of  the  city,  takes  stock  in  everything,  dabbles  in 
cotton,  and  finds  himself  in  the  centre  of  a  social  circle, 
which  is  a  cold  bath  to  him,  and  he  is  unequal  from  a 
want  of  education  to  the  requirements  of  that  society ; 
sighs  for  the  poor,  yet  happy  past,  and  yearns  for  that 
circle,  that  frolicked  on  the  deck  of  the  old  *4  Broadhorn," 
"Ohio  Belle,"  or  "Western  Queen;"  he  becomes  mor 
bid,  and  an  habitual  drinkerv  and  winds  up  too  often 
broken  in  spirits  and  purse,  having  quietly  killed  himself 
drinking  "old  rye"  in  his  private  parlor,  or  out  of  the 
barrel  in  his  back  office,  which  is  the  rendezvous  of  bank 
and  insurance  officers,  who  receive  his  deposits  and  take 
his  premiums,  laugh  at  his  coarse  jokes,  and  drink  his 
liquor.  The  poor  fellow  is  out  of  his  depth,  and  is  lost 
amidst  the  breakers  of  a  society  that  he  has  not  been 
fitted,  by  nature  to  enjoy.  Another  man  curses  the 
West  Point  graduate,  and  insists  that  to  the  people 
should  be  left  the  choice  of  their  leaders.  This  popular 
doctrine  of  universal  suffrage,  is  readily  accepted  by  the 
masses,  in  military  as  well  as  civil  life,  and  the  man 
formerly  a  shop-keeper,  is  made  a  colonel,  the  result 
being,  in  many  cases,  his  regiment  is  cut  to  pieces. 
This  is  no  slur  upon  the  volunteer  system  of  our  country, 
as  I  accord  to  our  volunteer  officers,  (hundreds  of  whom 
are  gallant  and  meritorious,)  their  full  meed  of  praise. 
But  am  firm  in  my  belief  that  education  is  as  necessary 
in  this  departmen  as  in  other  schools,  and  that  the 
obliqne  attack  of  Frederick  of  Prussia,  that  of  seperate 
columns,  by  Napoleon,  and  the  arrangement  of  Xeno- 
phon's  retreat,  are  as  much  subjects  of  study,  with  Scott 
and  Har dee's  tactics,  as  is  Bacon  and  Locke  to  the 
philosopher,  Shakespeare  to  the  actor,  Blackstone  to  tho 
law  student,  Scott  or  Henry's  exposition  to  the  young 
theologian. 

If  men,  in  all  the  relations  of  life,  would  but  realize  that 
"discretion  is  the  better  part  of  valor,"  and  that  the  hot 
spur  is  sure  to  be  circumvented  by  the  oily  gammon,  that 
to  go  to  sea,  like  the  wise  men  of  Gotham,  in  a  bowl,  is 
not  as  secure  as  a  staunch  vessel,  they  would  be  saved 
much  vexation,  and  find  out  that  opposition  to  the  true 
15 


218  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISCXtg  TABLE. 

laws  of  society,  is  as  Quixotic  as  dangerous,  and  a  being  who 
throws  what  little  brains  he  may  have,  into  the  public 
chaldron,  without  discretion,  or  studied  purpose,  as  to 
their  innate  properties,  is  like  the  man  ' 4  carrying  coals 
to  New  Castle,"  or  the  "  Dutch  taking  Holland," 
proper  illustrations  of  the  above  truths.)  They  are  little 
boats,  and  like  my  "scraps,"  should  keep  out  of  deep 
water,  for  no  matter  how  much  temporary  success  they 
may  meet  with,  in  taking  "the  flood  that  leads  on  to 
fortune,"  they  will  ultimately  be  swamped,  for  once  a 
traitor*  to  their  own  people,  they  will  ever  be  traitors  to 
any  cause  they  may  espouse. 

Among  the  hundreds  of  officers  captured  at  Fort 
Donaldson,  Captain  Winstead  is  one  of  the  most  marked ; 
tall,  with  much  distingue,  classical  features,  elegant  man 
ners,  with  a  vast  amount  of  bonhomme.  Winstead  is 
acceptable  to  the  men,  and  agreeable  to  the  ladies.  I 
became  acquainted  with  Captain  Winstead,  at  camp 
Chase,  in  prison  number  3,  mess  46,  composed  of  a 
splendid  set  of  fellows,  or  "  chaps,"  as  Moody  politely 
calls  Confederate  officers.  The  mess  gave  me  a  grand 
dinner  on  my  arrival,  Captain  Winstead  presiding.  The 
cards  of  invitation  were  playing  cards,  with  the  names 
of  the  guests  on  the  backs,  and  were  distributed  through 
the  agency  of  a  tin  plate,  as  a  waiter,  in  the  hands  of 
Greorge  Diggons.  The  writer  will  wager  a  bottle  of 
"  cliquot,"  that  there  are  not  a  dozen  young  men  in  the 
"  City  of  Rocks,"  (Nashville,  Tennessee,)  but  who  know 
"  George,"  one  of  the  most  rollicking,  generous,  dashing, 
fighting,  good  fellows,  in  or  out  of  a  military  prison.  He 
is  as  gleeful  as  a  lark,  but  get  liis  "  dutch  up,"  and  he  is 
for  a  strike  "  from  the  shoulder,"  or  "  ten  steps  with  a 
musket." 

Diggons  was  assisted  in  his  efforts  to  get  up  a  dinner 
in  style,  by  Lieutenants  Harlow  and  Morton.  Harlow 
is  a  pleasant  gentleman,  of  an  amiable  disposition,  with 
a  warm  temperament,  yet  pre-disposed  to  take  the  world 
and  all  things,  easy,  believing  (like  the  predestinarians,) 

*  The  mass  of  traitors  to  the  South  in  Tennessee,  Stokes,  Mayuard  and 
others. 


SCRAPS  FEOM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  219 

that  what  is  to  be,  will  be,  even  should  it  never  come  to 
pass.  The  great  interest  I  took  in  mess  46,  was  owing 
to  a  dream  I  had  months  previous  to  my  capture  ;  and 
on  my  honor,  as  a  faithful  chronicler  of  human  odds  and 
ends,  what  I  relate,  are  facts.  In  September,  1861,  in 
camp  of  instruction,  at  Germantown,  Tennessee,  whose 
leading  citizen,  Judge  Petitt,  that  honest  man  and  able 
jurist,  and  Mrs.  Cornelius,  that  most  estimable  woman,  and 
their  attentions,  I  will  never  forget,  I  dreamed  one  night, 
and  related  it  to  my  mess  next  morning,  composed  of 
Lieutenant  U.  J.  Brooks,  of  Georgia,  a  man  of  courage 
and  decision  of  character ;  Captain  A.  S.  Levy,  and 
Colonel  W.  T.  Avery,  (I  give  these  gentlemen  as  proof 
of  my  statements,  in  tin's  particular,)  that  I  was  taken 
prisoner  and  carried  to  the  North.  On  entering  the 
prison  yard,  I  saw  many  faces  I  had  seen  in  the  Con 
federate  lines,  and  thought  it  strange  they  should  be  there, 
and  not  prisoners.  I  inquired  of  them  the  reason  of  this, 
they  replied,  "  they  were  recognized  as  good  Southern 
men  in  the  South,  but  were  true  to  the  old  flag,  and  their 
services  were  then  engaged  by  the  United  States  govern 
ment,  to  communicate  useful  information  concerning 
the  movements  of  the  rebels,"  while  at  the  same  time,  the 
Confederates  were  giving  them  the  heaviest  contracts  in 
their  gifts.  I  remarked,  "  it  wras  very  strange."  Yes, 
but  you  know  "  a  prophet  is  hardly  without  honor,  save  in 
his  own  country  and  his  own  house,"  and  a  man  from  the 
North,  stands  a  better  chance  to  obtain  employment  in  the 
South,  than  he  "  to  the  manor  born."  In  the  South, 
your  churches,  in  a  majority  of  cases,  are  controlled  by 
Yankee  elders  and  deacons  ;  your  bank  stocks,  to  a  great 
degree,  are  owned  in  the  North,  thus  controlling  your 
bank  officers ;  two-thirds  of  your  insurance  companies  are 
under  the  same  control;  the  great  mass  of  your  railroad 
employes  are  of  Northern  extraction,  and  with  this  Northern 
influence  entering  into  every  crevice  of  the  many  ramifi 
cations  of  your  social,  financial,  religious,  and  other  circles, 
how  can  you  expect  to  succeed  in  your  present  struggle 
for  political  independence. 

"  We  know7  and  understand  these  truths,  and  while  we 


220  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

are  trying  to  make  all  the  money  we  can  out  of  the  South, 
we  are  still  faithful  in  our  allegiance  to  that  old  flag. 

"  I  moved  on,  and  was  taken  into  a  room,  filled  with 
bunks.  Feeling  sleepy,  I  asked  which  was  my  bunk,  and 
getting  into  it,  woke  up." 

I  never  realized  this  dream  until  April,  1862,  seven 
months  afterwards,  (when  I  met  several  of  these  traitors, 
who  had  been  "  running  with  the  hare,  and  pulling  with 
the  hounds."  One  of  them  I  saw  on  a  Federal  gun-boat. 
General  McCown  had  employed  him  at  Island  Ten,  to 
watch  the  movements  of  the  enemy,  giving  him  a  thousand 
dollars  for  the  service.  He  accepted  the  money,  and  gave 
the  Federals  his  information  in  regard  to  our  condition,) 
when  on  entering  prison  number  3,  mess  42,  camp  Chase, 
I  was  requested  by  Captain  Frank  McLean,  to  make 
myself  at  home.  Bed-time  approaching,  I  surveyed  my 
apartment,  and  asked  the  courteous  captain,  which  is  my 
bunk  f  Like  a  shock,  it  flashed  over  me  that  I  had  seen 
the  same  bunk  in  my  dream,  and  I  got  into  it  a  strong 
believer  in  dreams.  The  members  of  mess  42,  were 
Captain  Frank  McLean,  a  gentleman  of  much  polish  and 
solidity  of  character — he  is  of  the  cavalry,  and  a  brave 
soldier;  Lieutentant  Porter  is  a  modest,  intelligent 
gentleman ;  Captain  Bob  Moore  is  a  hearty,  out-spoken, 
generous  soldier  ;  Dr.  Dixon  is  an  able  physician,  thorough 
gentleman,  of  gentle  mien,  yet  with  sufficient  vigor  to 
make  his  mark  in  the  scientific  world ;  Captain  Joe 
Walker  is  from  Columbia,  Tennessee,  is  a  good  liver,  a 
genial  companion,  and  although  with  some  mauvaishonte, 
has  quite  a  pleasant  address  ;  Lieutenant  Joe  Irvine  is  an 
agreeable,  obliging  gentleman.  These  gentlemen  formed 
a  pleasant  society,  and  although  comparative  strangers, 
we  lived  like  brothers,  while  tabernacling  in  mess  42, 
prison  number  3,  camp  Chase,  Ohio. 

To  say  that  Moody,  that  fanatic  had  charge  of  the  pen, 
is  enough  to  convince  all  who  know  him,  how  "well  we 
were  treated."  We  were  searched  on  our  entrance,  from 
hat  to  boots,  as  if  we  had  secreted  stolen  goods.  Eighteen 
of  us  confined  in  a  room  about  fourteen  by  eighteen  feet 
and  our  cooking  and  washing  to  be  done  in  the  same 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  221 

room,  and  by  dove-tailing,  eighteen  of  us  wedged  into  six 
bunks.  In  our  prison,  number  3,  containing  nearly  a 
thousand  prisoners,  we  had  two  sinks,  about  ten  steps 
from  the  cabin ;  they  were  uncovered,  about  ten  feet  in 
length,  five  in  width,  with  a  pole  on  each  side,  two  inches 
in  diameter.  The  depths  of  the  sinks,  I  am  happy  to  say, 
I  was  not  so  unfortunate  as  to  fathom,  which  some  poor 
devils  did.  The  cisterns  were  below  the  cabins,  in  the 
centre  of  the  muddy  street,  and  below  the  grade  of  the 
sinks,  consequently,  upon  the  principle  that  all  fluids  will 
find  their  level.  The  water  of  prison  number  3,  w^as  not 
as  good  as  MaraKs  wells.  In  the  second  cabin  from  ours, 
there  were  several  cases  of  small-pox,  and  I  am  constrained 
to  say,  regained  long  enough,  (in  spite  of  our  appeals  to 
our  custodians  to  remove  them  to  the  hospital,)  to  spread 
infection,  had  not  an  order  of  the  government  removed 
us  to  Johnson's  Island,  where  we  had  better  scenery,  with 
rations  of  an  umbelliferous  nature,  (food,  physic  and  poison,) 
in  Pierson's  blue  beef  and  sour  bread. 

One  day,  Moody  exhibited  his  carcass  upon  the  walls 
of  our  pen,  and  with  stentorian  voice,  yelled  "  men,"  to 
which  we  responded  by  going  to  the  doors  of  our  cabins, 
when  lo  !  "  another  Bichmond"  appeared  upon  the  field, 
in  the  shape  of  Brownlow,  the  irrepressible ;  he,  who 
while  he  was  willing  "  to  fight  rebels  until  Hell  froze  over, 
and  then  fight  them  on  the  ice,"  yet  never  drew  a  sword 
or  shouldered  a  musket,  but  made  collections  of  sympathies 
and  substantial,  all  over  the  North,  and  played  his 
financial  cards,  all  trumps,  the  Federals  paying  him  as  the 
British  did  Arnold,  while  they  despised  him  for  his 
ingratitude. 

The  prisoners,  who  were  present  that  day,  will  remem 
ber  his  looks,  cadaverous  and  sinister ;  Ins  hat  pulled 
fairly  down  over  his  eyes,  he  looked,  in  the  presence  of 
those  gallant  Tennesseans,  the  abject  creature  that  he  has 
proven  himself  to  be.  He  made  a  speech,  and  we  gave 
him  a  patient  hearing,  on  finishing  which  he  stepped  one 
side,  to  make  way  for  Moody,  another  light  and  "  specimen 
brick"  of  the  church  militant,  which  has  lost  so  much 
caste  during  the  war  by  its  patronage  of  such  "  wolves  in 


222        SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON*  TABLE. 

sheep's  clothing,"  as  this  patent  preacher.  "  Men,"  says 
the  immaculate,  "  do  you  want  to  hear  preaching  next 
Sabbath,  there  is  a  powerful  good  preacher  from  Columbus, 
who  will  preach  to  you,  next  Sabbath,  if  you  are  willing?" 
(Old  Brownlow  still  looked  on,  grand,  gloomy,  and  peculiar, 
with  knowing  thoughts,  and  villainous  expression.) 
"  Come,  what  do  you  say,  men  ?"  are  you  willing  ?"  ex 
claimed  this  clerical  charlatan.  A  general  response, ' '  aye, 
aye,"  with  one  negative  from  an  unconverted  sinner  in  a 
distant  cabin,  whose  ideas  were  on  a  ring  he  was  making, 
who  exclaimed,  "  no."  I  immediately  jumped  upon  a 
stick  of  wood,  and  remarked,  Colonel  Moody,  excuse  that 
gentleman,  he  thought  the  invitation  to  preach  was  to 
Brownlow.  The  saint  wilted,  Moody's  face  grew  blacker, 
the  prisoners  cheered,  and  I  had  invitations  to  dinner  for 
a  week. 

One  of  the  handsomest  men  in  prison,  attempted  his 
escape,  but  failed.  He  shaved  off  a  magnificent  beard, 
and  trimmed  a  head  of  luxuriant,  ambrosial  locks,  and  in 
citizen's  clothes  smuggled  in,  with  a  colporteur's  pass, 
purchased,  started  for  the  gate  with  a  basket  of  tracts  on 
his  arm,  the  remainder  of  the  numbers  supposed  to  have 
been  distributed  to  impenitent  rebels.  Had  he  moved  five 
minutes  sooner  or  later,  he  would  have  been  under  the 
broad  canopy  of  Heaven,  without  the  wralls,  but  as 
General  Prim  has  it,  "  inflexible  destiny  is  stronger  than 
the  will  of  man,"  and  old  Moody  happened  to  pass  the 
gate  as  the  guard  ushered  the  pretended  colporteur  out. 

"Good  morning,  my  Christian  friend." 

"Good  morning,  Colonel  Moody." 

"Have  you  a  pass  ?" 

"Oh,  yes." 

"  Let  me  see  your  pass.  I'm  in  hopes  you  will  convert 
these  rebs.  Your  name  is — 

"  It's  in  the  pass,  colonel." 

"  I  asked  you  your  name,  sir." 

"Well,  colonel,  I  told  you  it  was  in  the  pass." 

"Well,  sir,  what  is  it?" 

This  was  too  much  for  reb,  and  his  patience  giving  way, 
the  rebellious  spirit  broke  out. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        223 

"D — n  you,  can't  you  read?" 

"  Hallo,  guards,  gobble  this  reb,"  which  was  done,  and 
we  dubbed  the  gallant  fellow,  "  Moody,"  ever  since. 

Moral.  It  is  bad  enough  to  forget  your  own  name,  but 
unpardonable  in  prison,  to  forget  an  assumed  one.  Our 
friend  lost  his  whiskers  and  hair,  and  as  a  quid  pro  quo, 
received  a  punch  and  reprimand.  It  might  have  been 
worse. 

There  are  in  camp  Chase,  several  old  men,  with  hoary 
locks  and  tottering  steps,  (civilians,)  who  were  dragged 
from  their  beds,  at  the  dead  hour  of  night,  without  trial 
or  legal  form  of  arrest,  but  the  "  get  up,  d — n  you,  we 
will  give  you  rebels  h — 1 ;"  and  here  they  are,  barely  able 
to  keep  soul  and  body  together,  a  sad  commentary  on  the 
policy  of  "  the  best  government  the  world  ever  saw," 
while  under  the  control  of  Yankee  Abolition  fanatics.  It 
was  a  piteous  spectacle  to  see  these  infirm  citizens  making 
their  way  through  the  mud,  which  submerges  camp 
Chase,  when  it  rains,  to  obtain  a  cup  of  water  from  a 
cistern,  foul  with  the  influence  of  the  sinks  above  them, 
and  all  this  among  a  so-called  free  people.  There  stands 
a  man  on  the  wall,  whom  a  recruiting  sergeant  enlisted 
one  month  ago,  as  his  foot  pressed  the  shore  of  America 
for  the  first  time.  He  can  barely  understand  the  word 
of  command,  yet  at  a  signal  from  the  wretch  Moody,  would 
murder  citizens  whose  fathers  fought  for  the  independence 
of  these  sovereign  States.  The  world  has  never  seen  so 
horrible  a  moral  picture  as  this.  There  stands  the 
miscreant  Brownlow,  worse  than  Arnold.  The  latter 
was  a  traitor  from  necessity,  the  former  from  choice,  with 
his  hat  over  his  eyes,  gloating  over  the  misfortunes  of 
his  fellow-creatures,  and  as  we  take  our  departure  from 
camp  Chase,  we  can  but  offer  a  prayer  that  the  poor  old 
men  may  yet  live  to  see  these  miscreants  meet  the  fate 
of  Judas.  Men  seventy  and  eighty  years  of  age,  dragged 
from  their  homes  in  Virginia,  and  incarcerated  in  a  filthy 
prison,  for  what?  No  charge,  no  form  of  law,  but  to 
gratify  the  malevolent  hate  of  that  spirit  that  would  mur 
der,  rape  and  rob,  in  the  name  of  the  Federal  Union. 


224  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON -TABLE. 

Oh,  for  a  Jupiter,  to  knock  such  fellows  into  Hell,  as  he 
did  of  yore. 

Camp  Chase  is  situated  in  a  flat,  four  miles  from 
Columbus,  Ohio,  with  a  high  board  fence  around  the 
cabins,  which  are  one  story  high.  There  is  an  elevated 
plank  walk  within  the  yard,  to  keep  us  from  floundering 
in  the  mud,  while  making  the  circuit  of  the  prison.  It  is 
one  of  the  filthiest  prisons  of  the  many  pens  assigned  for 
the  confinement  of  Confederate  prisoners.  The  sutler  has 
his  supplies  without  the  fence,  and  is  approached  by  a 
"pigeon  hole,"  in  which  you  insert  your  hand,  drop  the 
money  if  any  is  in  it,"  and  you  obtain  the  purchase 
through  the  same  channel.  "  A  little  hole  in  the  wall," 
is  at  the  entrance,  where  prisoners  are  searched,  and  if 
you  have  anything  valuable,  you  are  sure  to  lose  it.  One 
individual,  on  searching  the  writer,  attempted  to  take  a 
small  empty  flask,  when  another  "fine  young  thief,  of 
one  and  twenty,"  with  more  of  the  milk  of  human 
kindness,  said  oh  !  let  him  keep  it.  Falstaff  would  have 
gone  into  ecstacies,  could  he  have  recruited  from  the 
"  fine  young  thieves  of  one  and  twenty,"  who  examined 
prisoners,  in  1862,  or  part  of  that  year,  at  prison  number 
three,  camp  Chase,  Ohio. 

There  can  be  nothing  said  that  can  add  to  the  character 
of  Mrs.  Clark,  who  is  a  true  Southern  woman  of  soul  and 
heart,  with  an  energy  that  carries  our  minds  back  to  the 
women  of  the  first  Revolution.  She  has  worked  and 
traversed  the  four  sections  of  the  country,  to  assist  in 
alleviating  the  sufferings  of  prisoners,  that  the  fortunes  of 
war  have  thrown  into  the  hands  of  the  Federals.  She 
has  played  the  part  of  mother  and  sister  to  the  heart-sick 
soldier,  whose  face  brightens  at  her  coining,  confident  she 
brings  good  tidings.  She  has  never  tired,  but  has  struggled 
and  toiled  for  privileges  for  the  sick  and  suffering  prisoner, 
and  her  importunities  have  rarely  been  refused.  With  a 
powerful  family  influence,  she  has  been  able  to  do  much 
in  substantiate,  shown  in  the  many  little  comforts  and 
delicacies  that  daily  find  their  way  to  the  prisoner,  reviving 
and  invigorating  him.  Mrs.  Clark's  cheerful  face  and 
sympathizing  heart  is  known  to  thousands  of  imprisoned 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE        225 

soldiers  of  the  Confederate  States,  who  now  fill  the  many 
prison-pens  of  the  North.  This  estimable  lady  is  from 
Virginia,  sister  of  R.  W.  Moon,  Esq.,  of  Memphis, 
Tennessee,  and  wife  of  Judge  Clark,  of  Ohio.  She  is  no 
fanatic,  but  is  to  this  continent  what  Florence  Nightingale 
is  to  the  Old  World.  God  bless  her,  may  her  children 
and  her  children's  children  never  suffer,  and  "  as  the  sins 
of  the  fathers  are  visited  upon  the  children,  even  unto 
the  third  and  fourth  generation,"  so  may  the  virtues  of 
the  mother  be  visited  in  drops  of  mercy,  upon  her  children 
even  to  the  third  and  fourth  generation. 

Dr.  Cliff,  of  Williamson  county,  Tennessee,  late  surgeon 
of  Colonel  Batters  regiment,  the  Twentieth  Tennessee, 
who  was  taken  prisoner  at  Mill  Springs,  has  taken  the  oath, 
visits  us  to-day,  and  advises  all  to  go  and  do  likewise,  but 
none  of  us  will  take  it,  as  we  cannot  consistently,  after  the 
oath  we  have  taken  to  the  South  as  Confederate  officers. 
We  respect  Dr.  Cliff  as  a  gentleman,  but  as  to  the 
necessity  for  our  taking  the  nauseous  palliative  for  our 
supposed  offence,  if  any  exists,  "  we  can't  see  it." 

Among  the  many  Southern  women  who  have  endured 
privations  to  accomplish  the  darling  object  of  their  heart, 
the  independence  of  the  South,  and  to  commune  with 
loved  ones  in  camp  and  prison,  none  can  be  more  highly 
spoken  of  than  that  estimable  woman  Mrs.  Harry  Hedden. 
Fragile  as  a  flower,  yet  with  nerves  that  duty  has  strung 
up  to  a  steel  hardness,  she  ran  the  gauntlet  of  offensive 
subordinates,  (who  are  always  pushed  forward  when  the 
duty  is  unpleasant,)  risked  life,  health  and  comfort,  to 
visit  her  gallant  husband,  Captain  Hedden,  as  splendid  a 
fellow,  and  chivalric  an  officer,  as  tabernacles  in  our 
prison  home.  On  arriving,  she  requested  permission  to 
see  her  husband,  but  was  sternly  refused.  She  plead, 
her  hundreds  of  miles  of  travel,  her  anxieiy,  but  her 
pleadings  wrere  all  in  vain.  Pierson  denied  the  privilege, 
as  the  souless  wretch  is  not  alive  to  any  emotion  of 
sympathy  for  the  sick,  weary  or  distressed.  However,  in 
a  lucky  moment,  the  Captain  was  taken  quite  ill,  and  our 
generous  Post  Surgeon  Woodbridge,  swore  he  was  going 
to  die,  thus  forcing  Pierson  to  admit  the  wife.  Harry  got 


226  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON-TABLE. 

well,  was  soon  after  exchanged,  and  his  courageous  and 
lovely  wife  accompanied  him  to  Dixie.  I  don't  think  the 
captain  would  have  died,  but  it  was  a  ruse,  dictated  by 
love,  "  which  laughs  at  bolts  and  bars,"  and  hence  was 
successful. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        227 


CHAPTER  IX. 


NEW  ACQUAINTANCES.— CAPTAIN  LOW.— LIEUTENANT  BOWERS.— CAP- 
TAIN  O'NEAL.— FAITH  AND  DESTINY.— THE  RAFTSMEN  OF  JOHN 
SON'S  ISLAND.— THEIR  INVENTIVE  GENIUS,  AND  ACCEPTANCE  OF 
EXPEDIENTS.— CAPTAIN  HAYDON,  OF  TENNESSEE.— FOURTH  OF 

JULY  IN  PRISON GENERAL  FAIR,  MINISTER  TO  BELGIUM.— MRS. 

FAIR.— MISS  ROSE   WYATT.— MRS.  BASS,   OF  LOUISIANA J.  HUNT 

STROTHER,  OF  MISSOURI.— MISCONCEPTION  OF  CHARACTER.— COL 
ONEL  JABEZ  SMITH,  OF  ARKANSAS.— COLONEL  CLARK,  SIXTH  TEN- 
NESSEE.-CAPTAIN  BLAKE,  OF  KENTUCKY.— A  CHALLENGE  HAS 
FASSED  IN  PRISON.— A  QUIET  MAN  ON  THE  CODE  DUELLO.— LIEU 
TENANT  D'AUBIGNE.— MRS.  COLONEL  BRYAN.— ICE-CREAM  SALOON. 
-A  SQUAD  OF  PAROLED  PRISONERS.— THE  FOUR  TRAITORS  WHO 
TOOK  THE  OATH. 

IN  forming  new  acquaintances,  one  must  remember 
that  first  impressions  are  lasting ;  that  each  word, 
each  expression,  has  its  weight,  and  although  lost  sight 
of  for  the  moment,  leaves  an  indellible  stamp  upon  the 
memories  of  both.  I  always  refuse  an  introduction  to 
new  acquaintances,  unless  my  mental  and  physical  are  in 
happy  unison  to  produce  felicitous  effects.  This  is  why 
nature  assumes  the  tidy  or  dashy  in  the  fair  sex,  or  the 
exquisite  and  ponderous,  or  the  elegant  substantials  in 
the  males,  in  their  entre  into  each  othei's  society,  creat 
ing  favorable  impressions,  which  are  so  lasting,  that 
future  years'  slatteringly  and  slovenly  manner  and  dress 
fails  to  eradicate,  although  it  may  more  or  less  pall.  You 
must  either  storm  your 'new  acquaintances,  by  an  over 
whelming  dash  of  conversational  powers,  or  solemnly 
measure  your  words,  as  if  announcing  profound  ideas, 
often  obscure  to  yourself,  or  you  must  by  a  certain  degree 
of  manvais  honte,  be  an  eager  listener  to  the  supposed 


228  SCEAPS  FROM  THE  PEISON  TABLE. 

intellectual  pearls,  that  are  dropping  from  the  mouths  of 
your  new  acquaintances.  I  dropped  into  a  new  set  to 
day.  I  found  Captain  Low,  a  modest,  intelligent  gentle 
man,  full  of  nerve  and  resolution.  I  like  him  as  a  new 
acquaintance  very  much. 

Lieutenant  Bowers  is  a  man  of  much  thought,  and  for 
his  age  (twenty-six)  developes  the  facial  corduroy  of  thir 
ty-five.  He  is  a  gentleman,  and,  J[  am  confident,  a  good 
officer. 

Captain  O'Neal,  of  the  Thirty-second  Tennessee  Regi 
ment,  I  am  much  attached  to.  He  is  one  of  your  whole 
souled  fresh  men,  ever  ready  to  do  a  generous  deed,  and 
whose  every  pulsation  and  innate  promptings  are  of  dis 
interested  politeness  and  friendship,  a  genial  companion, 
intelligent  officer  and  good  man,  full  of  confidence  in 
his  kind.  'Tis  a  blessed  boon  to  have  such  a  nature,  and 
Captain  O'Neal  is  a  happy  man. 

General  Prim,  of  the  Spanish  forces,  writing  from 
Orizaba,  Mexico: 

"  Inflexible  destiny*  is  stronger  than  the  will  of  man." 

I  remember  once,  as  I  was  wandering  over  the  memo 
rable  field  of  Waterloo,  to  be  impressed  with  how  much  of 
human  happiness  and  human  success  depend  upon  faith, 
and  how  impossible  it  is  to  anticipate  a  Heavenly  future 
without  it.  The  ancient  philosophers,  either  Bias  or  Pe- 
rander,  I  forget  which,  said,  'twas  hope  that  was  the 
strongest  thing  in  nature,  because  it  lasted  beyond  the 
grave.  But  I  differ ;  for  what  is  stronger  than  faith  ? 
and  what  has  more  buds  of  prom  ise  to  the  hopeful  ?  I 
think,  they  are  indissolubly  connected,  but  if  there  is  dis 
tinction,  I  think  the  inclination  is  to  faith.  The  farm 
of  Hougmont,  the  celebrated  farm  house,  occupied  as  a 
stragetic  point  by  Wellington,  on  the  field  of  Waterloo, 
has  two  large  gardens,  separated  by  a  brick  wall,  the 
entire  grounds  being  surrounded  by  a  wall  of  the  same 
material.  The  buildings  were  also  brick,  as  well  as  a 
chapel,  as  in  Europe,  (i.  e.)  upon  the  continent,  the  sur- 

*  Reflections  upon  the  death  of  that  great  chieftain,  Albert  Sidney  Johnson, 
who  seemed  fated  to  be  cut  off  before  his  time.  'Twas  his  destiny. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  229 

rounding  tenantry  have  no  village  church,  but  attend  at 
the    chapel   of  the   estate.     This  farm   was  taken  and 
retaken,  by  the  contending  hosts,  three  times.     During 
those  fierce  encounters  the  buildings  caught  fire,   and 
were   only  extinguished  upon  reaching  the  feet  of  an 
image  of  our  Savior,  which  in  all  Catholic  countries  is 
always  behind  the  altar  of  every  chapel.     (I  saw  the 
image,  and  with  the  exception  of  a  little  char  on  its  feet, 
it  was   not   disfigured.)     Was  this  faith,  or  was  it  not  ? 
These  Catholics,  in  spite  of  the  hew  and  cry  of  Know- 
Nothingism,*  the  accusation  of  dissenters,  and  the  male 
volence  of  many  rival  sects,  have  much  of  the  spirit  of 
faith.     Their  physical  peccadilloes  do  not  seem  to  disturb 
the  channel  of  their  devotion  to  the  church,  her  glories 
and   her   virtues.     There  may   be    some    discrepencies 
—there  are  some  in  my  own  church — but  I  have  traveled 
in  Catholic  countries,  and  in  all  of  them  I  have  not  seen 
any  more  display  of  the  dangers  of  confessionals,  than  I 
have  in  the  private  parlors  of  Protestantism  ;  I  have  seen 
no  more  licentiousness  in  Catholic  courts  than  in  the  lob 
bies  of  Washington,  and  seductions  and  murders  are  of 
more  frequent  occurrence  among  the  Lazzaroni  of  Italy, 
than  the  roughs  of  the  oyster-cellars  of  the  Points  ;   and 
to-day  the  only  conservative  element  in  the  country  is 
Catholic.      It   was   something   saved   this   image.     The 
death-dealing  missiles  were  hurling  destruction  upon  all 
who  attempted  to  quench  the  flames,  and  the  chapel  was 
left  to  be  destroyed.     The  flames  raged  until  they  reached 
the  feet  of  the  image  of  our  Savior,  and  then,  "  I  say, " 
not  "  they  say,"  it  stopped,  and  the  image  stands  to-day, 
as  it  stood  then,  untouched.     The  chapel  is  visited  by  all 
the  curious  of  all  nations,  and  as  the  field  of  Waterloo  is 
the  Mecca  of  English  travelers,  the  crowd  is  numbered 
by  thousands,  that  pay  their  annual  pilgrimages  of  wor 
ship  at  the  shrine  of  the  allied  successes  upon  this  field  of 
blood.     Of  course,  as  each  man  is  anxious  to  carve  his 
name  upon  some  tablet,  that  may  bequeath  him  by  his 
initials  to  an  admiring  posterity,  I  was  anxious  to  impress 

*  A  Yankee  trick  to  divide  the  Southern  Democracy. 


230  SCEAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  JTABLE. 

upon  the  same,  when  I  was  there,  at  least,  how  I  spelt 
my  name,  and  was  making  an  effort  to  place  my  letters 
upon  the  wall,  that  was  literally  covered  with  a  thousand, 
when  a  gentleman  suggested,  that  his  guide  had  informed 
him  that  the  wall  was  whitewashed  every  spring,  to  make 
room  for  new  names.  One  visitor,  who  was  up  to  Water 
loo  tricks,  for  fear  of  this  process,  stole  a  brick,  by  picking 
it  out,  that  Byron  wrote  his  name  on.  So  I  declined, 
and  left  the  Held,  after  purchasing  some  Waterloo  canes, 
from  the  forest  of  Soignes.  The  relics  of  bullets  and 
eagles  are  all  manufactured,  and  I  took  no  interest  in 
them. 

Predestination  is  a  belief,  this  is  not  a  concio  ad  clerum, 
but  to  prisoners,  and  is  not  to  force  my  belief,  which  is 
strong  in  foreordination,  I  look  upon  destiny  as  a  concomi 
tant  of  aith,  and  as  in  the  latter,  the  inspiration  incites,  so 
incitation  moulds  the  subject  into  such  shape  as  destiny 
will  accept,  and  the  man  of  faith  becomes  the  child  of 
destiny  (paradoxically  speaking).  Napoleon  remarked  to 
the  soldier  at  his  side,  who  dodged  from  a  passing  ball, 
"  Mind  it  not,  if  it  was  intended  to  kill  you,  it  would  do  it, 
if  you  were  two  hundred  yards  under  ground."  The  great 
Emperor  was  a  great  believer  in  destiny,  and  had  perfect 
faith  in  his  star.  The  Sun  of  Austerlitz,  in  all  his  glory, 
was  an  omen  to  him  of  a  glorious  success,  and  a  harbinger 
of  victory.  Richelieu  had  faith;  so  had  Wolsey.  The 
former's  enthusiastic  reply  to  his  bearer  of  dispatches, 
when  questioning  his  own  success,  said,  "  What  if  I  should 
fail  ?"  "  Fail,"  said  the  brilliant  cardinal,  "In  the  bright 
lexicon  of  youth,  that  faith  reserves  for  a  glorious  man 
hood,  there  is  no  such  word  as  fail."  This  was  faith.  "  I 
go  from  a  corruptible  to  an  incorruptible  crown,"  said 
the  heart-crushed  Louis.  Here  was  a  faith,  that  looked 
beyond  the  present  sphere,  and  hoped  for  a  realm  where 
Revolutions  cease  to  corrupt,  and  wliere  the  thirst  for 
blood,  that  men's  hands  were  reeking  with,  would  be  as 
suaged,  and  where  Yankee  Abolitionists  are  not  known, 
not  even  living  in  Boston,  can  save  them,  even  under  the 
shadow  of  their  deities,  that  dirty  dog  and  fanatic,  Wen 
dell  Phillips,  the  Negro  thief,  and  slanderer  of  Southern 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  231 

people,  and  that  old  humbug,  that  keeps  the  Boston  mu 
seum.*  Charlotte  Corday  was  a  child  of  destiny,  when 
she  stabbed  the  heartless  Marat.  What  but  belief  in 
their  destiny  stimulated  the  Girondits,  and  made  the 
"mountain''!  feast,  the  day  previous  to  their  execution? 
Washington  bore  to  the  savages  a  charmed  life,  as  they 
often  said  they  had  him  in  point  blank  range  to  their  un 
erring  rifles  a  hundred  times.  It  was  destiny,  and  Wash 
ington  had  faith  in  it.  Faith  as  a  commander,  stimulates 
armies  to  deeds  of  valor.  The  cry  of  a  Richard,  the  flash 
of  the  steel  of  a  Saladdin,  were  as  inspiring  as  the  bold 
charge  of  Boabdil  el  Chico,  and  the  resistless  dash  of  the 
gay  cavaliers  of  Spain,  under  the  walls  of  Granada,  to 
their  inspired  and  enthusiastic  followers.  Mahomet, 
although  accused  of  charlatanism,  had  much  faith.  His 
calling  the  mountain  to  him,  was  an  evidence,  and  he  dis 
played  his  good  sense,  when  finding  that  the  mountain 
would  not  come  to  Mahomet,  he  said,  "  Mahomet  would 
go  to  the  mountain."  In  all  ages,  and  among  all  men, 
sects  and  societies,  faith  has  been  the  motive  power,  that 
has  given  propulsion  to  the  wheels  of  the  energetic  world. 
It  is  the  incentive  to  study,  and  action  develops  each 
resource  of  the  finite  being,  and  when  united  to  belief  in 
destiny,  prepares  us  to  accept  the  fiat  of  that  Great  Being, 
who  arranges  the  application  of  both  principle  to  the 
t'rue  believer. 

<k  Loud  roared  the  dreadful  thunders, 

The  rain  a  deluge  showers, 

The  clouds  were  rent  assunder, 

By  lightning's  vivid  power." 

And  so  raged  Sandusky  bay,  on  the  night  of  May  the 
30th,  1862.  The  lines  above,  alluded  to  the  famous  bay 
of  Biscay,  off  the  Spanish  coast,  but  they  apply  with 
equal  force  to  Sandusky  bay,  when  considering  the  dif 
ference  between  a  full -rigged  Queen  of  the  Sea  of  some 


*  Kimball,  whose  entertainments  are  as  flat,  as  his  character  is  negative. 

f  Let  the  Southern  people  do  the  same,  bide  their  time,  which  will  surely 
come,  and  then,  when  the  South  is  redivivus,  take  your  true  position,  as  rest 
assured  that  the  South  and  West  will  control  the  country,  but  at  present  you 
can't  make  the  mountains  come  to  you. 


232  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISO1J  TABLE. 

two  thousand  tons,  and  the  delicate  limbed  and  can 
vassed  yachts  of  the  bugs  of  "Bay  City,"  whose  occupa 
tion  is  adapted  to  the  elements  they  adorn.  In  a  former 
"scrap,"  1  alluded  to  the  formation  of  a  Zouave  corps. 
The  brilliant  movements  of  this  gallant  battalion  has 
stimulated  others  to  achieve  notoriety  by  chivalric  deeds, 
and  another  organization  of  some  of  the  decided  braves 
of  the  prison  was  effected.  Their  incitation  from  the 
wants  of  success  of  the  Zouaves  led  them  to  adopt  a  dif 
ferent  procedure.  Their  war  cry,  "Arrah,  arrah,"  this 
although  misunderstood  by  the  sentinel  on  the  wratch 
towers,  would  be  magical,  as  the  chief  was  a  Celt,  genu 
ine  and  full,  but  he  was  much  affected  by  the  "  Swiney," 
which  prevented  too  rapid  locomotion,  and  thus  was  cal 
culated  to  retard  the  velocity  of  the  manoeuvre  ;  this  wras 
obviated  by  the  agile  capacities  of  Captain  Thompson, 
the  Blondin  of  Johnson's  island.  It  is  to  the  latter  gen 
tleman,  we  are  indebted  for  the  conception  of  crossing 
the  bay  on  a  rope.  Thompson,  who  vowed  "he  knew 
the  ropes,"  would  attempt  the  feat,  but  one  difficulty 
seemed  in  the  way,  the  want  of  a  bottle.  "  Herr  Cline," 
the  famous  rope  dancer,  would  take  a  bottle  and  sit  upon 
it  on  a  slender  cord,  and  Blondin  would  also  perform 
similar  tricks.  This  seemed  quite  an  acquisition,  and 
Captain  Thompson  was  heralded  as  the  apostle  of 
prisoners  desirous  of  escaping.  The  ropes  and  bottle 
were  obtained,  as  Captain  Thompson  had  built  up  much 
prestige  upon  the  peculiar  performances,  and  to  be  satis 
fied  that  all  was  ready  fora  the  hazzardous  enterprise,  a 
rope  was  stretched  across  a  room  in  one  of  the  buildings, 
and  the  bottle  was  produced.  The  performance  began. 
The  bottle  presented,  when  by  some  mistake,  (not  of  the 
printer.)  but  of  the  Post  Surgeon.  It  was  found  to  be 
full  of  whiskey.  It  had  to  be  emptied.  It  was  a  pity  to 
waste  it,  and  it  was  intended  that  the  chief  of  the  corps 
should  drink  it,  he  did  so  and  the  manoeuvre  opened,  but 
much  to  the  surprise  of  the  rank  and  file,  the  bottle 
holder  had  neglected  to  tighten  the  slack-rope,  and  the 
result  was  a  depression,  and  the  chief  was  on  his  head. 
This  not  being  in  the  bill,  and  the  attempt  having  sig- 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        233 

nally  failed  from  the  derangement  of  the  head  of  the  col 
umn,  the  ropes  were  abandoned,  and  the  rafts  were 
adopted,  hence  the  term  raftsmen,  and-  the  use  of  this 
means  to  effect  the  escape  of  the  disappointed  five.  The 
getting  out  was  not  considered,  as  all  said,  "getting  out 
was  nothing,"  leaving  the  island  was  the  rub.  The  party 
comprising  the  raftsmen  corps  consist  of  Captain  Jessie 
Taylor,  Lieutenant  Sweeney,*  Lieutenants  Thompson,  j 
Stockdell,  and  Campbell,  five  trumps,  a  good  hand  for 
any  enterprise. 

The  arrangements  completed,  another  difficulty  seem 
ed  looming  up  in  hideous  proportions  in  the  distance, 
and  to  all  appearance,  it  was  the  fact  of  the  amount  of 
paper  money  in  the  crowd  being  too  laige  to  risk,  in  case 
of  a  warm  or  cold  bath,  if  you  will,  in  the  bay ;  and  all 
seemed  desponding,  because  the  party  had  experienced 
much  difficulty  in  obtaining  the  money.  The  law  of  the 
prison  being  such,  that  the  prisoner  is  only  allowed  to 
buy  what  he  wants,  and  give  checks  to  the  sutler.  At 
camp  Chase  they  were  allowed  five  dollars  at  a  time,  so 
as  to  allow  change  to  buy  sundries  and  papers.  There 
fore,  all  kinds  of  tricks  were  resorted  to  get  to  the  money 
inside.  Some  would  buy  five  dollars  worth  of  postage 
stamps,  and  then  retail  them  to  the  officers,  and  by  "  hook 
and  by  crook,"  our  gallant  corps  obtained  a  goodly  sum. 
But  the  money  must  be  placed  in  some  secure  place,  it 
being  paper,  and  getting  wet,  would  become  ruined  and 
worthless.  A  bright  thought,  however,  flashed  across 
the  mind  of  the  susceptible  Thompson ;  and  seeing  the 
bottle,  drained  of  its  contents,  lying  in  bold  relief,  on 
the  bare  floor,  like  some  ancient  grave  yard,  "the  place 
of  departed  spirits^ "  he  grasped  it  eagerly,  and  presenting 
it  with  that  impulsiveness,  that  so  characterizes  the 
house  of  Thompson,  exclaimed — "this  is  the  bottle!" 
and  suggested  the  happy  idea  of  placing  the  roll  of  bills 
in  it,  and  then  corking  it,  trusting  it  to  the  water, 
attached  as  a  caudal  appendage,  if  need  be,  by  a  cord  to 
some  one  of  the  party,  and  on  reaching  "  terra  firma"  to 

*  The  gallant  Sweeney  was  killed  while  nobly  performing  his  duty. 
t  Lieutenant  Thompson  had  his  foot  shot  off. 

16 


234  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

have  the  satisfaction  of  having  not  only  obtained  their 
freedom,  but  in  the  possession  of  ample  funds,  would 
hie  them  to  their  happy  homes,  in  the  land  of  "  Dixie. " 
All  seemed  delighted,  and  each  extended  the  hand  of 
congratulation,  while  the  left  was  elevated  by  the  assist 
ance  of  the  forearm  to  the  auricular  extremity  of  the 
head,  which  was  the  signal  agreed  upon,  "all  right.'7 
All  seemed  jubilant  and  sanguine,  but  there  was  one 
clouded  brow,  in  that  brilliant  circle,  it  was  ominous  of 
shadowed  thought. 

"Oh!  cast  that  shadow  from  thy  brow,"  all  exclaimed, 
but  there  it  was,  on  the  massive  forehead  of  the  sprightly 
Sweeny.  The  veins  upon  his  brow  seemed  to  swell  like 
the  bounding  billows  of  the  "Mad  lake,"  whose  surface 
he  intended  to  bare  his  manly  breast  to  that  self  same 
night ;  those  eyes,  that  when  influenced  by  heart  emo 
tions  of  pleasure,  seemed  to  sparkle  like  some  diamond 
buried  in  one  of  the  catacombs  of  Egypt,  or  like  the 
application  of  castile  soap  to  the  cranium  of  some  ancient 
Zouave,  whose  capillary  substance  has  yielded  to  the 
stroke  of  time,  that  unrelenting  destroyer,  and  expose 
from  some  dark  corner,  its  shining  surface,  but  to  be 
more  strikingly  like  the  reflection  of  a  smooth  quarter 
in  a  rat  hole.  The  hue  of  his  formidable  moustache 
darkened  with  those  sad  features,  and  like  some  frowning 
promontory,  added  an  eclipse  to  the  usually  happy  ex 
pression  of  a  mouth  wreathed  with  smiles,  that  now 
compressed  its  lips  like  the  door  of  the  cave  in  "Ali 
Baba's"  time,  when  the  magic  word  "  Sesame"  had  been 
pronounced  in  commanding  tones.  In  this  case  'twas 
bottle,  the  clenched  teeth  gritted  together  like  the  shock 
some  closing  fissure  of  some  convulsed  system,  and  he  came 
out  with  his  pent  up  feelings  barely  restrained,  in  one  loud 
acclaim,  "How  can  the  money  begotten  out  of  the  bottle?" 
The  crowd  of  anxious  friends,  who  had  awaited  the  results 
of  the  mountain  in  labor,  felt  like  an  Ateas,  or  the  old 
man  of  the  mountain,  had  been  removed  from  their  shoul 
ders,  and  the  sunshine  of  satisfaction  illumined  the  coun 
tenances  of  the  re-assured  crowd.  It  seems  that  the 
history  of  the  "  apple  dumplings"  had  not  been  imparted 


SCBAPS  FEOM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  235 

to  the  youths  in  their  early  course  of  studies,  and  therefore 
the  abstraction  of  substances  from  vacuums  as  imbecile, 
as  one  of  the  merry  monarchs  said  in  Merrie  England, 
when  presented  with  the  mysterious  compound,  "y'e  clept 
apple  dumplings,"  "  Pray  good  dame,"  quoth  he,  "  how 
got  the  apples  in  ?"  But  with  Sweeny,  the  problem  that 
required  solution,  was,  "  quoth  he,"  how  wrill  you  get  the 
money  out  ?  Excitement  was  depicted  on  each  rueful  face, 
as  they  thought  of  the  danger  they  had  ran,  and  all  looked 
upon  Sweeny  as  the  discoverer  looks  upon  a  Kane,  u 
Marcapola,  a  Columbus,  or  a  Bilbo ;  and  never  did  as 
much  consternation  exhibit  itself  than  on  this  occasion, 
when  they  awoke  to  a  perfect  realization  of  the  dangers 
they  had  escaped. 

Mutual  congratulations  ensued  on  the  narrow  escape  of 
the  party  from  pecuniary  annihilation,  and  the  entire 
party  concluded  to  retire  for  that  night,  with  a  conscious 
ness,  that  some  other  plan  must  be  adopted  to  effect  their 
deliverance,  as  the  failure  of  the  Zouaves,  and  the  risk  of 
getting  their  money  wet,  disturbed  their  raft  evolutions, 
and  they  retired  to  their  cubby-holes,  satisfying  their  in 
tellects,  that  getting  out  was  not  what  it  wras  cracked  up 
to  be,  and  that  scaling,  sprawling,  or  squatting  would  hot 
pay.  They  felt,  that  to  cross  Sandusky  bay  on  a  raft 
might  do  for  a  seal  or  walrus,  but  not  for  a  Confederate, 
and  to  land  in  the  North  without  a  cent,  Stockdell  says, 
is  the  next  thing  to  supping  with  Pluto ;  and  Jessie  Tay 
lor  being  a  man  of  sense,  he  added  his  voice,  and  the  raft 
was  abandoned  ;  Campbell  determining  he  would  hump/i 
himself  off,  in  some  dryer  way — such  as  reading  my  ac 
count  of  it. 

Captain  Hayden,  of  Tennessee,  sits  at  his  window,  and 
as  he  sees  the  boats  come  in  view,  says,  as  he  retreats 
from  the  window,  "  Don't  look,  boys,  treat  them  with 
silent  contempt,"  and  all  drew  back.  It  seems  magical, 
the  campus  that  a  few  moments  before  had  been  alive 
with  Confederates,  seem  to  catch  the  inspiration,  and  all 
rapidly  withdraw  to  their  quarters,  leaving  the  vulgar 
curiosity  of  the  insulting  songsters,  with  their  "  Stars  and 
stripes,"  and  "  The  red,  white  and  blue,"  to  luxuriate  in 


236        SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

full  view  of  a  tamer  heather  in  the  plain  walls  of  our 
quarters.  It  was  a  good  joke  on  the  small  fry  quill 
drivers  of  the  nine-inch  sheets  across  the  bay,  in  trying 
to  drum  up  customers,  for  a  pleasure  excursion  on  an  old 
hack -boat,  to  enlarge  upon  the  "  sight,"  on  Johnson's 
island. 

Captain  Hayden  is  in  the  engineer  corps,  is  an  experi 
enced  engineer,  and  one  of  the  best  informed  men  in  the 
"bull-pen,"  a  deep  thinker,  a  careful  reader,  of  much  of 
the  German  scholasticism  about  him ;  a  great  believer  in 
the  mysteries  of  nature,  like  your  humble  author,  and  a 
man  whose  mind  seems  to  accept  all  outward  natural 
influences.  I  like  to  argue  with  the  captain,  as  he  has 
much  of  that  courtliness  of  the  Virginian  of  the  old  school, 
he  being  a  native  of  the  Old  Dominion,  although  a  Ten 
nessee  volunteer,  and  this,  with  his  travels  and  his  deep 
researches,  makes  him  a  reliable  companion,  as  well  as  a 
pleasing  one.  If  he  does  oppose  my  theory  of  "  like  be 
getting  like,"  in  figure  and  mind,  but  more  particularly 
in  complexions  and  outlines,  I  argue  that  constant  associ 
ations  with  any  or  each  element  in  the  physical  world, 
produces  a  likeness  in  each,  that  attracts  a  close  observer 
to  the  strong  assimilation*  even  in  ideas.  I  believe,  the 
man  or  woman,  who  lives  constantly  in  the  woods,  with 
no  companion  but  the  brave  old  oaks  and  the  tight  bark 
hickories,  and  the  rude  and  compact  cane,  will  ultimately 
become  hard  in  visage,  rude  in  manners,  and  partake  of  the 
humaness  of  the  wild  nature  they  associate  with.  Con 
tact  with  the  animal,  constant  seeing  and  rubbing  against 
the  crudeness  of  the  tangled  forests,  or  the  dense  and  regal 
woods,  is  as  effective  in  forming  not  only  physical  traits, 
but  also  physiognomy,  as  the  power  of  education  or  associ 
ation  forms  the  personelle  and  the  manners.  Did  you  ever 
see  people  who  looked  like  animals  ?  I  Jiave.  Some 
people  look  like  the  bark  upon  the  forest  trees,  and  their 
manners  are  like  their  countenances.  Captain  Ilayden 
says,  'tis  the  result  of  impressions,  produced  at  certain 
seasons,  upon  certain  parts  of  the  human  family.  I  don't 
think  so.  I  look  upon  it  as  the  result  of  associations. 
Cities  give  polish ;  there  is  much  corruption  in  their  pur- 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.         237 

liens,  but  it  is  refined ;  you  are  murdered  with  a  smile, 
and  robbed  with  a  salam,  yet  enjoy  it  more  than  the 
"stand  and  deliver  of  the  road."  In  speaking  of  the 
woods,  I  don't  mean  the  country  entire,  with  its  honesty 
and  candor,  its  soothing  influences  of  quiet  and  content 
ment,  but  I  allude  to  the  wild  woods. 

The  Fourth  of  July  wTas  decorously  observed,  anft  in  a 
manner  becoming  officers  on  such  a  day  and  in  such  a 
place,  upon  the  soil  of  our  forefathers,  wrhere  we  are  now 
victims  of  the  most  abominable  despotism  in  the  universe, 
resembling  more  the  terrorism  of  the  Visigoths  and  Van 
dals.  The  Fourth  of  July,  two  years  ago,  I  passed  a 
happy  one  in  Europe,  as  a  representative  of  the  happiest 
and  the  most  powerful  government  in  the  world  ;  to-day 
I  am  a  prisoner  of  war,  held  by  the  fiat  of  a  kingdom,  a 
usurper,  one  whom  the  Almighty  seemed  to  have  placed 
at  the  head  of  a  government  destined  to  destruction.  No 
great  man  would  have  been  allowed  to  have  occupied  the 
seat  of  the  head  of  such  a  corrupt  dynasty,  and  it  seems 
a  part  of  the  Divine  wisdom,  to  have  put  the  right  man 
in  the  right  place.  All  are  quiet,  it  seems,  like  the  Sab 
bath.  I  repeat  it,  on  this  the  4th  day  of  July,  1862,  in 
prison  on  Johnson's  island,  the  Confederate  officers  acted 
well.  I  have  episoded  on  this  chapter,  but  if  you  are 
willing  to  put  up  with  the  literary  crumbs,  that  fall  from 
the  tin-plates  of  my  oaken,  greasy  table,  why,  you  will  be 
compelled  to  accept  my  "  scraps"  with  a  good  grace,  as 
stated,  two  years  ago,  I  passed  a  Fourth  July  in  Europe, 
and  being  honored  by  the  receipt  of  an  invitation  to  dine 
at  Brussels,  from  the  American  Minister,  General  Fair. 

General  Fair,  Minister  to  Belgium,  is  an  honest,  hospi 
table  gentleman,  gave  good  dinners,  and  always  had  on 
hand  a  bottle  of  "  eye  opener."  His  office  and  drawing- 
rooms  were  always  open  to  his  American  friends.  He  is 
a  true  Southern  man,  and  deserves  well  of  the  South. 

Mrs.  Fair  is  polite,  fragile,  but  with  a  great  spirit,  and 
any  quantity  of  active  energy.  Mrs.  Fair,  in  fact,  is  one 
of  the  best  feminine  diplomats  I  met  in  Europe,  is  an 
esteemed  friend  of  the  Ducthess  of  Brabant,  and  has  the 
entre  of  the  best  society  in  Europe. 


238  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

Miss  Rose  Wyatt,  Mrs.  Fair's  niece,  is  a  beautiful  girl 
of  sixteen  summers,  accomplished  and  intelligent.  The 
above  were  the  family,  to  whose  courtesy  I  am  indebted, 
for  much  of  the  pleasantness  of  my  sojourn  in  Brussels, 
the  beautiful  capital  of  Belgium.  The  General  and  family 
are  residents  of  Montgomery,  Alabama.  I  took  a  dinner 
on  the  4th  with  this  agreeable  family. 

Mrs.  Bass,*  of  Louisiana,  is  an  elegant  woman  in  car 
riage,  a  tout  ensemble  of  Parisian  mould,  the  result  of 
constant  attendance  in  the  best  society  of  the  continents 
of  Europe  and  America,  superb  taste,  and  an  inexhaustible 
supply  of  this  world's  goods.  You  have  before  you  the. 
widow1-  Bass,  of  Louisiana,  one  of  the  most  stylish  wTomen 
I  met  in  rny  travels  in-  Europe.  Her  brother  was  on  my 
left,  quite  an  agreeable  young  man,  now  in  our  army  and 
a  good  officer.  Judge  Cobb,  of  Georgia,  a  delegate  from 
the  cotton  planters  association,  a  man  of  venerable  ap 
pearance,  and  much  information. 

J.  Hunt  Strother,f  of  Missouri,  a  gentleman  who  is 
connected  by  marriage  with  some  of  the  nobility  of 
Austria,  wras  one  of  my  personal  friends,  and  a  whole- 
souled  gentleman.  A  residence  of  twelve  years  in  the 
capitals  of  Europe,  had  made  him  aufait  in  all  that 
appertains  to  the  first  order  of  society.  I'll  never  forget 
an  incident  that  occurred  in  Brussels,  in  which  he  figured. 
The  "  octoire  "  duties  had  been  abolished  by  the  repre 
sentatives  in  Congress,  and  approved  of  by  King  Leopold, 
and  wras  to  go  into  effect  by  a  popular  demonstration  of 
the  Burgeois  of  the  city  and  environs.  This  "  octoire  "t 
duty  was  a  special  tax  on  all  liquors  and  meats  that  came 
within  the  barriers,  (i.  e.)  the  corporate  or  municipal 
limits.  The  tax  was  about  one  cent  per  pound,  on  meats, 

*  Wife  of  the  Italian  Minister,  (1867,)  to  the  United  States. 

f  Hunt  Strother's  sister  married  the  Baron  Fahrenburgh.  She  is  one  of  the 
handsomest,  and  most  hospitable  of  the  nobility  of  Europe. 

I  There  is  no  octoire  duty  in  America,  but  ladies  were  searched  d urine;  the 
war,  by  many  of  the  defenders  of  the  "  old  flag,"  bureaus  broken  into,  work 
baskets  examined  for  bombs.hells,  and  everything  stolen — old  Kutler  the 
Beast — that  could  be  laid  hands  on  ;  no  privacy  respected,  missionaries  to 
foreiirn  lands  forpooth.  There  is  not  a  mother  in  the  world  who  would  be 
guilty  of  the  excesses  of  the  miscreants  who  plundered  Selma,  and  sacked 
Columbia. 


SCRAPS  FEOM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.         239 

and  about  twelve  dollars  on  a  cask  of  wine ;  and  as  a 
city  improved,  and  the  residences  went  up  in  squares, 
outside  the  prescribed  limits,  their  female  occupants  were 
liable  to  be  searched  for  anything  possibly  contraband  in 
satchel  or  redicule.  Of  course,  although  the  loss  of 
revenue  was  some  three  millions  of  dollars,  yet  the  abating 
of  the  nuisance  was  hailed  with  unfeigned  delight  by  the 
class  alluded  to,  particularly  aided  in  their  expressions  of 
joy  by  the  Burgeois,  who  anticipated  cheap  meats  and 
wine.  "Hunt"  and  myself,  concluded  as  our  residence 
in  Brussels  had  as  yet  produced  no  uprorious  results,  we 
would  engage  in  the  rejoicings  of  the  good  Burgeois  of 
the  city,  and  give  them  a  touch  of  western  hilarity. 
The  clock  struck  twelve,  and  the  day  that  was  thus  timely 
ushered  in  to  herald  the  going  into  effect  of  the  freedom 
of  outside  productions  in  their  transit,  was  made  wild  with 
the  cheers  that  greeted  a  wagon  loaded  with  beef,  mutton, 
beer  and  wine.  The  crowd  numbered  thousands,  and 
they  gave  vent  like  most  of  foreigners,  to  a  sort  of  growl. 
I  have  said  cheer  ;  'tis  not  on  that  order.  It  is  to  the 
cheer  of  an  American,  like  the  war-whoop  of  an  Aborigne 
was  to  the  early  settlers  upon  Plymouth  rock.  We  passed 
to  the  front  and  commenced  a  series  of  whoops ;  the 
sensation  was  electric.  We  still  continued.  Like  a  host 
of  fiends  were  after  them,  they  took  up  the  cry,  and  not 
since  the  departure  of  the  crusaders,  or  the  finding  the 
mannikin,  did  the  streets  of  Brussels  ring  with  the  vo 
ciferations  of  the  aroused  and  excited  citizens.  We 
thought  the  .storm  was  at  its  height,  and  left,  going  to  the 
Prince  of  Wales'  coffee  house,  and  taking — a  glass  of 
"'alf  and  'alf."  This  was  my  only  spree  in  Brussels 
with  Hunt  Strother,  or  "  any  other  man." 

Corr  Van  Damaren  sat  opposite  to  me.  This  gentleman 
was  judge  of  the  tribunal  of  commerce,  president  of  the 
board  of  free  traders,  and  the  Cobden  of  Belgium,  an 
able  exponent  of  the  system  he  advocated.  Speeches 
were  made,  and  all  were  gay.  This  gentleman  alluded  to 
an  audience  I  had  with  the  Duke  of  Brabant,  one  of  the 
most  thorough  gentlemen  I  ever  met,  and  a  fit  scion  of 


240  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

that  astute  King  Leopold,*  and  remarked,  looking  at  the 
hand  the  Duke  had  removed  his  glove  to  shake,  said  to 
me,  "  I'd  never  wash  that  hand  again,  as  long  as  I  -lived." 
It  was  a  pleasant  gathering  and  characteristic  of  General 
and  Mrs.  Fair ;  but  this  fiifair  of  the  ever  memorable 
anniversary  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  although  more  festive,  is  not  of  as  much  moment 
as  the  day  itself  in  prison  on  Johnson's  island.  "  A  long 
way  round,  you  will  say,"  I've  no  doubt,  but  as  I  started 
out  to  write  as  I  felt,  as  I  wished,  and  as  I  know  how,  I 
am  going  to  do  the  same  in  this  and  all  succeeding  "scraps." 
We  drink  no  champagne  here.  Some  messes,  I  believe, 
had  whiskey.  The  sick  in  the  hospital,  had  some  "km'ck 
iiacks,"  puddings  perhaps. 

Our  next  Fourth  of  July,  I  hope,  will  be  in  the  happy 
land  of  Dixie.  I  have  closed  this  chapter.  It  has  been 
called  watery  by  Captain  Jones,  of  Kentucky,  a  splendid 
fellow,  a  staff  officer  of  Tilghmaii's,  and  a  dashing  soldier. 
Jones  is  with  us  daily,  and  we  take  liberties,  (at  times, 
something  else.)  Jones  says  it  is  watery,  but  if  so,  'tis 
variety,  and  as  variety  is  the  spice  of  sublunary  things,  I 
have  concluded  to  put  it  in  the  bunch  or  bundle  of  "  scraps" 
I  offer  to  a  nation  of  epicures.  It  is  growing  dark,  and 
the  Fourth  of  July  is  lost  in  the  sultry  retrospection. 

Prison  life  is  the  best  index  to  the  character  in  the 
world,  and  if  within  the  reach  of  all,  students  of  morality 
would  be  the  graduating  class,  for  school  hours,  those 
devoted  to  tare  and  tret,  and  the  syntax  and  prosody, 
"  Ego  amo"  declamation  and  composition,  are  the 
preparatory  ingredients  to  form  the  man ;  but  the  moulding 
is  by  contact  with  the  outer  world,  and  it  is  only  by  rub 
bing  against  the  various  phases  of  society,  that  the  mind 
is  matured  and  fitted  for  the  active  duties  of  a  deceptive 
wroiid,  filled  with  every  incentive  to  err,  and  alive  with 
vice  in  a  myriad  of  shapes  and  fancies.  Our  youth  have 
an  entire  misconception  of  life,  its  aims,  its  demands,  and 
its  obligations ;  the  effects  of  which  want  of  information 
shows  disastrous  results  all  through  life's  journey.  I've 

*  The  present  King  of  Belgium,  Leopold,  is  the  most  intelligent  gentleman 
I  met  in  Europe,  having  a  quick  apprehension,  and  comprehensive  conception. 


SCEAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        241 

seen  and  mingled  with  all  grades  of  society,  and  have  seen 
much  of  that  class,  vulgarly  called  "  big  men,"  and  like 
all  hills  that  seem  green  and  grassy  in  the  distance,  or 
like  huge  mountains,  or  deep  vales,  encountered  in  the 
path,  seem  small  when  you  approach  them,  and  the  mass 
of  "  big  men"  I've  seen,  are  quite  common  when  you 
approach  them,  and  if  half  the  youth  of  our  country 
could  be  taught  the  habits  and  different  usages  of  first- 
class  society,  after  they  are  on  the  way,  or  have  attained 
the  full  zenith  of  their  ambition,  they  would,  (if  moral,) 
cease  to  have  that  reverence  for  legislators,  and  that  awe 
of  "big  men,"  statesmen  and  warriors.  Much  of  the 
dignity  and  pride  you  see  in  men  is  assumed ;  'tis  a  false 
key  played  upon  ;  it  is  the  same  disguise  used  by  the  actor, 
put  on  to  suit  his  role ;  frequently  like  the  clown,  so  flimsy 
as  to  be  penetrated  by  the  child.  How  many  men  are  to 
the  world  what  they  really  are  in  their  natural  selves  ? 
About  one  in  a  hundred.  Frederick  the  Great,  was  an 
intelligent  monarch,  yet  would  get  upon  his  air  fours  and 
play  horse  for  his  children.  Napoleon  cooked  omelets, 
Webster  had  an  uxorious  love  of  stock,  and  one  of  the 
last  acts  of  his  life  was  to  have  some  Ayrshire  cattle 
brought  to  his  window  to  gaze  upon,  with  a  mind  and 
heart  free  from  anxiety,  and  full  of  innocent  amusements. 
'Tis  true  that  these  men  of  great  intellects  are  the  effects 
of  a  reactionary  influence,  like  that  great  void  or  hollow- 
ness  after  too  much  laughter,  the  nervous  depression  after 
excitement,  or  vice  versa,  calm  and  sadness  will  be  fol 
lowed  by  storm  and  hilarity.  But  few  men  live  one  life 
to  themselves  and  the  world.  The  mass  of  great  men 
put  their  manners  and  feelings  on  like  they  do  their 
cloaks. 

Colonel  Jabez  Smith,*  of  Arkansas,  is  a  quiet,  mild 
gentleman,  one  you  would  take  for  a  draw-back  upon 
enterprise,  from  his  easy  and  loose  manner  of  quiet,  and 
his  reserved  style  generally,  yet  stir  up  the  inner  man  of 
"  Jabez  Smith,"  and  you  have  a  lion  in  the  path. 

Colonel  Clark,  of  the  Sixth  Tennessee,  is  a  gentleman 

*  Necessity  for  a  knowledge  of  the  world  to  Colonel  Jabez  Smith,  one  of 
the  best  judges  of  human  nature  in  the  pen. 


242  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISOIJ  TABLE. 

of  pleasant  and  agreeable  manners,  has  a  large  quantity 
of  the  "man  of  the  world"  in  him,  an  officer,  I  am  con 
fident,  who  is  loved  by  his  command  ;  yet  Colonel  Clark 
is  a  quiet  man,  nothing  of  the  braggart,  but  on  the  field, 
I'll  wager,  is  full  of  metal.  You  would,  if  a  casual  ob 
server,  misunderstand  him. 

Major  Brown,  of  the  Fiftieth  Tennessee,  is  a  modest 
lawyer,  (i.  e.  if  there  is  such  an  animal,)  a  thorough  gen 
tleman,  and  one  of  the  mildest  men  in  prison,  but  if  I  am 
any  judge  of  charactar,  he  is  one  of  the  firmest  in  our 
circles,  and  one  to  whom  the  most  dangerous  enterprises 
could  be  entrusted.  I  like  Major  Brown;  he  is  a  Christian 
gentleman,  a  cool,  calm,  kind  and  generous  officer.  I 
have  simply  touched  these  characters  off,  as  they  are  in 
prison,  and  as,  I  think,  they  are  at  home. 

Captain  Blake,  of  Kentucky,  is  the  hospital  steward, 
and  is  confined  strictly  to  the  hospital  and  its  duties,  is  a 
good  liver,  and  is  quite  faithful  in  his  attentions  to v  the 
sick.  Blake  looks  more  like  a  festive  and  gay  man  of  the 
world,  fond  of  a  "  smash"  in  the  morning,  and  the  opera 
at  night,  than  an  attentive  and  kind  man  to  the  sick  and 
needy.  I  know  the  character  of  Captain  Blake,  simply 
from  a  little  occurrence.  I  .was  indisposed,  and  there 
was  an  embargo  on  spirits  ;  Blake  administered  a  brandy- 
toddy  ;  it  cured  me.  I  don't  know  where  Captain  Blake 
obtained  it,  but  as  the  Nigga  said,  "'twas  powerful  good." 
Blake,  like  many  of  us,  in  prison  is  natural,  out  of  prison 
we  are  artificial.  I  know  some  individuals  here  that,  when 
they  get  out,  will,  if  asked,  if  they  knew  so  and  so,  as  a 
seedy  personage  passed,  who  has  nodded,  "  Oh  !  yes, 
slightly,  a  mere  watering-place  acquaintance,  not  at  Sara 
toga,  Cape  May,  or  Biloxi — no,  Johnson's  island."  "Ah ! 
ha !"  says  the  stranger,  as  he  walks  off.  "  Snob,"  the 
leaver  of  outdoors  has  worked,  and  the  natural  man  of 
Johnson's  island  becomes  the  artificial  scrub  of  Canal 
street. 

I  would  ask  my  readers,  to  take  a  careful  survey  of 
prison  life.  Study  man  in  his  two  lives,  the  inner  and 
the  outer,  and  he  will  learn  much.  Man's  study  is  man. 
There  are  many  influences  that  may  tend  to  warp  a  man's 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  243 

natural  instincts,  and  avocation  may  change  him  unbe 
known  to  himself ;  yet  this  is  the  exception,  not  the  rule. 
The  man  is  a  victim  of  society,  and  with  all  its  despotism, 
he  is  held  under  its  tyrannical  rod  by  iron  hands,  in  spite 
of  himself,  and  while  conforming  to  its  rigidity,  he  licks 
the  rod  that  chastises  him.  So  to  avoid  the  seeming  des 
tination  of  youth,  let  him  read  his  history  of  the  world 
early,  not  pore  over  them  in  old  age,  instruct  him  in 
character,  and  teach  him  that  the  world  is  a  great  volume 
in  paragraphs,  illustrated  with  its  plates,  highly  colored, 
whose  attractions  are  apt  to  attract  from  more  sedate 
colorings,  and  as  he  turns  over  each  new  leaf  in  the  won- 
iderful  book,  see  that  he  leaves  no  thumb-marks,  and  don't 
let  him  suffer,  as  many  do,  by  a  sad  experience,  that,  says, 
well,  I'll  profit  by  this  example,  and  be  instructed  for  the 
next  emergency.  But,  unless  schooled,  the  student  is 
never  profited,  but  is  attacked  by  new  issues,  until  ex 
perience  comes  too  late.  If  you  want  your  boy  to  have 
the  instincts  of  a  man,  bring  him  to  Johnson's  island,  and 
let  him  study  human  natural  nature. 

I  am,  in  this  "  scrap,"  on  another  tack,  as  I  found  out, 
upon  a  critical  analysis,  that  I  was  getting  prosy  ;  and 
then  again,  I  find  it  difficult  to  adopt  any  singleness  of 
style,  for  instance  :  it  would  not  do  to  attempt  a  novel, 
because  you  will  say,  Bulwer,  James,  Scott,  or  Maryatt  are 
good  enough  for  you  ;  nor  a  history — McCauly's  or  Pres- 
cott's  works  will  suit ;  and  as  to  the  blood  and  thunder 
of  periodicals,  why  Emerson  Bennett  will  answer.  So 
what  should  I  write  ?  Anything  I  please  !  Just  exactly 
what  I  have  done,  what  I  am  doing,  and  what  I  intend 
to  do.  I  have  in  some  previous  "  scraps"  alluded  to 
various  subjects,  such  as  forces,  politics,  connection  be 
tween  mind  and  matter,  and  etc. 

I  will  now  present  a  peculiar  theory  of  mental  disease, 
believing  as  I  do,  that  there  are  periodical  mental  visita 
tions,  as  well  as  physical  epidemics  ;  that  "  free  loveism"* 
is  a  disease.  Abolitionism  and  Mormonism,  and  all 

*Turkey  is  called  "  the  sick  man,"  because  politically  diseased.  As  the  cru- 
aade  against  the  South  in  1862,  history  will  prove  to  "be  as  fearful  a  political 
and  moral  disease,  as  the  plague  of  London  in  the  seventeenth  century. 


244  SCRAPS  FEOM  THE  PRISON.TABLE. 

influences  that  tend  to  revolutionize  society,  is  as  much 
a  disease  as  the  small-pox  or  yellow  fever,  and  the  mental 
powers  can  be  easily  caught  by  the  infection  that  a 
man  can  imagine  himself  ill,  (like  the  old  man  in  the  field, 
who  had  put  on  his  son's  vest,  entirely  too  small  for  him, 
imagined  himself  bit  by  a  snake,  and  that  he  was  swelling 
under  the  influence  of  the  poison,  was  only  relieved  on  his 
son  arriving  with  his  father's  vest  dangling  around  him  :) 
the  mind  contemplating,  makes  it  susceptible,  or  like  the 
passage  of  the  angel  of  the  plague  into  grand  Cdiro^ 
when  asked  how  many  he  intended  to  destroy,  replied  | 
3,000 ;  on  coming  out  was  informetj.  15,000  had  died, 
retorted,  I  only  killed  3,000,  the  rest  died  of  fear.  The 
fright  was  as  much  an  epidemic  as  the  loathsome  disesase 
itself.  '  The  mind  is  delicately  susceptible,  and  assisted  by 
the  imagination ;  then  reflected  to  other  imaginations, 
inspires  enthasiasm  or  inflicts  despair,  and  there  has  not 
been  an  age  or  even  a  year,  but  some  disease,  social  or 
political,  has  run  like  wild  fire  through  society.  'Twas 
the  case  in  the  South,  and  particularly  so  in  the  State  of 
Mississippi,  from  1831  to  1842.  Much  of  the  effects  of 
this  epidemic  that  was  called  the  "Duello,"  was  wit 
nessed  by  the  author.  Randolph  and  Tom  Benton,  had 
their  opinion  of  the  "  code."  Randolph  changed  his 
opinion  three  times  in  his  life ;  once  strongly  advocated 
the  principle,  then  condemned,  then  again  became  a 
supporter.  During  a  latter  stage  of  opinion,  he  fought 
Mr.  Clay, Randolph's  argument,  was  "Duelling"  is  individ 
ual  war.  I  will  give  an  instance  of  the  feeling  existing  at 
that  time  in  Vicksburg,  Misssssippi,  the  rendezvous  of 
such  men  as  S.  S.  Prentiss,  McClung,  Robbins,  and  a 
host  of  others,  gallant  men,  whose  bravery  was  made  the 
avenue  to  mislead  them  to  (what  is  deemed  by  many) 
barbaric  encounters.  I  was  at  the  school  of  an  old 
gentleman  whom  we  all  loved  and  feared,  for  he  did  not 
-pure  the  ferule  or  the  birch.  It  was  1838,  when,  one 
bright  morning,  all  Vicksburg  was  crossing  the  river  to 
the  "  battle  ground,"  as  the  encounters  were  all  in  one 
place  and  of  frequent  occurrence,  as  any  stranger  who 
visited  Vicksburg,  contemplating  settlement,  if  a  pro- 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        245 

fessional  gentleman,  had  of  necessity  to  fight  a  duel,  to 
establish  his  claim  to  gentility.  The  river  was  covered 
with  skiffs  or  canoes,  (usually  called  dugouts,)  as  it  was 
always  a  gala  day,  and  witnessed  with  as  much  gusto  as 
a  "  bull-fight "  in  Spain,  or  the  old  English  and  French 
tournaments  of  the  good  old  day  of  legalized  chivalry 
The  duel  came  off  at  7  A.  M.,  between  Judge  Lake,*  and 
Tom  Robbins ;  f  the  former  killed  twenty  years  afterwards, 
in  a  duel  with  rifles,  (not  long  ago,)  the  latter,  a  distin- 
.  guished  Mississippian,  but  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  died 
in  the  insane  asylum,  'tis  saicl,  at  Philadelphia,  the  place 
of  his  nativity.  I,  with  the  other  boys,  crossed  the  river 
to  see  the  fight,  anticipating  to  get  back  in  time  for  school 
hours,  9  A.  M.,  but  the  duel  was  postponed  until  10  A. 
M.,  and  we  feeling  disappointed,  started  back  and  darted 
into  the  school  yard  as  the  bell  rang,  much  excited  by 
our  race  to  get  back  in  time,  as  boys  will  loiter,  and  we 
were  boys. 

"  Where  have  you  boys  been  ?" 

"  To  see  the  duel." 

"Did  it  come  off?" 

"  No,  sir." 

"  Well,  when  is  it  to  be  decided  ?" 

"  Ten,  to-day,  Mr.  Lewis." 

"  Why  you  young  rap-scallions,  why  didn't  you  stay 
and  report  the  results?  School  is  dismissed,  you  have 
been  good  boys  and  shall  have  a  holiday.  Bring  me  my 
pony,  (which  as  he  was  lame  he  always  rode,)  and  I'll 
go  and  see  the  fight." 

He  did  go,  saw  it;  his  pony  strayed  off,  and  our  good 
old  master  was  three  days  finding  him,  and  of  course  we 
had  a  jolly  good  time.  So  much  for  the  duel  fever  of 
183-.  Judge  Lake's  gun  snapped,  (they  fought  with 
double-barreled  shot  guns,)  the  latter  lowered  his  gun 
magnanimously,  and  shot  him  in  the  knee.  Sargeant 
S.  Prentiss  came  from  Portland,  Maine,  to  Mississippi ; 
a  quaint,  mild,  gentlemanly  master  of  the  ferule.  In 
five  years  he  was  the  "Ney"  of  the  State  in  the  "  code." 

"Mudge  Lake,  one  of  Mississippi's  distinguished  sons. 

fTorn  Robbias  was  a  Pennsylvanian,  and  the  soul  of  chivalry. 


246  SCRAPS  FEOM  THE  PEISON  TABLE. 

You  see  at  once  how  catching  the  disease  was,  and  in 
spite  of  the  many  flings  at  the  "Yankees,"  they  seemed 
to  have  been  more  violently  attacked  than  the  denizens 
of  the  fighting  latitude  themselves.  Prentiss'  life  has 
been  written,  and  I  shall  briefly  allude  to  a  man  that  I 
loved,  "They  say,"  and  as  "Burr"  said,  witheringly; 
"don't  tell  me  what  they  say,"  that  the  brilliant  orator 
drank,  that  he  gambled;  well,  so  he  may  have  done, 
and  how  few  great  men  but  do.  Nine  men  of  brains  out 
often,  are  men  of  sensibility,  of  ambitious  hopes,  of  great 
nervousness,  and  in  ninety-nine  times  in  a  hundred,  are 
men  of 'disappointed  aims  and  desires.  Again,  men  who 
attain  a  position  in  the  world,  do  it  at  the  sacrifice,  (in  a 
large  majority  of  cases,)  of  the  physical  man;  the  intense 
application  of  mental,  the  continued  strains  upon  the 
nerves,  require  artificial  stimulants.  Some  fly  to  the 
card-table,  some  to  the  bottle,  and  others  to  other 
sources  of  dissipation.  Men  of  mediocrity  seldom  drink, 
(of  course  I  leave  out  the  church, )  it  is  only  the  two 
classes;  the  blackguard  in  the  gutter,  or  the  man  of 
genius  of  high  tone,  who  feels  that  the  wrorld  is  selfish, 
that  dollars  are  almighty  with  the  masses,  and  the 
plating  of  society  silvered  by  peculation,  is  fastened 
upon  a  corrupt  system,  that,  like  a  corporation,  is  soulless, 
and  is  represented  by  the  "Hickmans"  and  McFlimsys  of 
society.  The  man  of  heart  and  soul  feels  all  this,  and  is 
driven  to  some  excitement  to  quell  the  emotions  of 
disgust,  that  rise  in  his  heart  when  contemplating  society 
from  such  a  standpoint.  A  society  that  will  say  to  the 
soldier,*  who  perhaps  after  suffering  for  months  in  camp, 
from  disease  and  exposure,  comes  home  maimed  and 
broken  up  in  constitution  and  in  purse ;  and  after  the 
war  is  over,  and  trade  has  resolved  into  its  original 
channels,  and  preferment  is  in  the  current  of  peace, 
when  war  is  forgotten  by  those  who  did  not  go  into  it, 
and  those  who  did,  have  no  power  to  do  good,  he 
asks  a  pittance,  it  may  be  he  has  imbibed  too  much, 

*  In  the  South  he  has  but  little  advantage,  and  in  the  North  he  may  be  seen 
the  recipient  of  coppers,  as  he  handles  the  organ's  crank  in  the  place  of  the 
musket. 


SCEAPS  FKOM  THE  PKISON  TABLE.         247 

what  matter,  lie  is  broken  down  and  feels  sick  at  heart, 
when  gazing  on  the  tinsel  of  society,  that  glitters  past 
him,  unconscious  of  the  suffering  he  has  endured  for  his 
country  and  his  flag,  and  he  is  desperate  and  asks  for 
help,  the  reply  is :  "  We  have  so  many  calls  of  similar 
character,  it  is  impossible  to  supply  the  demand ; 
George,  give  this  man  a  dollar."  The  money  is  thrown 
upon  the  counter,  by  a  sleek  young  gentleman,  whose 
future  is  in  the  color  of  his  meerschaum,  and  the  gloss 
of  his  hair,  with  the  expression,  ' '  These  fellars  are 
very  annoying."  He  takes  the  dollar,  and  unless  he 
wants  a  drink  badly,  throws  it  at  his  head,  damning  the 
world  by  sections,  and  feeling  that  ambition  and  patriot 
ism  are  the  results  of  the  ideal  and  imaginative,  and  not 
intended  for  practical  life,  unless  their  votaries  are  the 
children  of  property.  Prentiss  saw  things  in  this  light. 
He  was  disgusted.  Then  he  loved  certain  society,  he 
was  in  bad  health,  and  then,  what  if  he  did  drink,  so  did 
Webster,  so  do  most  all  great  men.  The  author  is  no 
apologist  for  this  vice,  believes  in  the  use  and  not  abuse, 
and  only  drinks  upon  two  occasions;  one  is,  when  he  is 
invited,  the  other,  when  dry.  The  duel  and  street 
tights  of  those  years  would  fill  a  score  of  volumes,  there 
fore  have  no  place  in  this  work.  I  have  merely  alluded 
to  the  principle,  and  only  partially  to  the  actors  in  the 
drama. 

Duelling  is  not  the  proper  settlement  of  difficulties,  out 
of  the  army  or  navy,  there  where  men  have  united  them 
selves  to  make  a  business  of  lighting.  The  "code," 
ought  most  certainly  to  be  accepted,  but  I  ignore  it  in 
civil  life,  as  barbarous  in  the  extreme,  as  there  is  no 
equality  between  the  good  and  bad  shot,  the  splendid 
and  indifferent  swordsman,  or  the  athletic  and  the  pig 
my,  (with  the  bowie,)  you  can't  place  men  upon  an 
equal  footing  in  the  field,  and  when  they  are,  it  makes 
no  difference,  because  they  sdclom  fight.*  I  speak  of  the 

*  One  of  the  most  ridiculous  customs,  is  that  of  field  arrangements.  Settle 
ments  should  be  made  before  they  reach  the  ground.  A  good  business  for  a 
tactician  in  the  "code"  would  be  to  open  a  broker's  office,  charging  a  per  cent- 
age,  to  make  honorable  adjustments. 


248  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

rule,  not  the  exception.  I  must  admit,  I  'have  been 
nearly  drawn  into  rashness,  which  might  have  resulted  in 
a  duel,  but  if  so,  had  I  escaped,  would  have  felt  that  I 
had  abandoned  my  principles,  and  sacrificed  my  moral 
worth  to  the  severe  demon  of  a  false  sense  of  honor,  for 
merly  called  the  "code,"  by  a  false  society,  that  has  for 
its  stand  point,  punctillio,  that  only  a  fraction  compre 
hend,  and  they  mutilate  the  part  they  pretend  to 
accept.  I  see  that  I  am  compelled  to  start  on  some 
other  subject,  as  details  of  men,  and  their  actions  become 
tiresome  to  the  reader,  where  there  are  so  many  men  of 
genius  and  note  in  the  land,  and  if  I  am  wearying  my 
reader,  why  I  feel  sorry  for  it,  but  he  or  she  will  pardon 
this  apology  and- digression,  when  I  tell  them,  that  in 
this  "bull-pen,"  there  are  some  thousand  Confederate 
officers,  possibly  eight  hundred  of  them  under  thirty 
years  of  age.  These  men  are,  some  of  them  at  least, 
men  of  the  first  order  of  talent,  and  with  the  world  be 
fore  them,  many  of  them  will  make  .their  mark,  therefore 
I  deem  it  may  be  interesting  in  after  life  to  read  them, 
and  know  who  they  are.  Now,  there  goes  Captain 
Vance  Thompson,  of  Columbia,  Tennessee.  He  passes 
by  with  a  light  active  step,  and  a  certain  suaviter  in 
modo,  showing  the  careless  and  easy  man  of  the  world, 
yet  Vance  Thompson  is  one  of  the  most  brilliant  speakers 
in  the  State,  and  formerly  beat  one  of  our  ablest  men  for 
a  seat  in  the  Legisjature,  and  you  would  n6t  think 
it  to  look  at  him.  Men  become  creatures  of  habit, 
and  like  all  men  of  talent,  Thompson  conforms  to  cir 
cumstances,  and  yields  to  habit. 

Speaking  of  habits  and  brilliant  men,  and  how 
men  under  the  influence  of  this  force  will  exhibit  it,  I 
.remember  being  at  9  dinner  in  Paris,  given  to  Americans 
by  Charles  J.  Faulkner,  assisted  by  some  liberal  Ameri 
cans,  Monroe  &  Co, ,  the  celebrated  bankers,  and  several 
others  of  the  wealthy  Americans,  residents  of  the  city. 
"  Deney,"  the  liberal  French  millionaire,  whose  wine 
cellars  in  champagne,  had  three  millions  of  bottles  at  that 
time.  "  Deney,"  with  princely  munificence,  furnished 
the  wine,  and  with  generous  politeness,  assisted  in  dis- 


SCKAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE         249 

pensing  and  discussing  it.  It  was  a  Fourth,  of  July  affair, 
and  promised  to  be  grand.  Among  the  guests  present, 
was  "Big  Beverly  Tucker,"  consul  to  Liverpool,  who 
had  come  to  Paris,  (he  said,)  for  his  rheumatism,  I 
thought,  for  the  frolic.  Beverly  Tucker,  is  a  good  liver, 
like  all  of  our  foreign  and  consider  agents  abroad,  and 
when  the  Southern  Confederacy  is  recognized,  Tucker 
will  get  something.  I'm  sure  he  is  the  man  for  a  fat 
office,  and  I  think  he  deserves  it.  "Gus"  Conover,  of 
New  Yoik,  was  there.  It  is  this  gentleman  that  allowed 
himself  to  be  caught  in  the  net  of  the  Fowler,  to  the 
tune  of  some  $50, 000,  when  said  Fowler  was  postmaster 
of  New  York  city.  I  look  upon  Conover  as  a  man  of  fine 
character.  George  Law's  son,  of  the  same  city,  a  pleasant 
young  man  of  good  manners,  not  spoiled  by  the  immense 
means  his  father's  fortune  furnished.  The  author's 
secretary  was  there,  Lush  Taliafero,  of  Newport,  Ken 
tucky.  This  young  gentleman,  now  a  lieutenant  in  the 
Federal  army,  has  at  least  one  virtue,  that  of  being  the 
son  of  Mrs.  F.  M.  Parker,  one  of  the*  best  women  of 
Kentucky.  "  Lush"  is  a  lion  among  the  ladies,  and  of 
a  tout  ensemble  that  would  stamp  the  child  of  fortune, 
(born  with  a  gold  spoon  in  his  mouth. )  I  again  met  Mr. 
Cobden  at  this  point,  and  he  had  the  same  placid  smile, 
ready  conversation,  that  discovers  so  easily,  to  even  a 
casual  observer,  the  politician.  There  are  some  three 
hundred  more,  whose  names  would  not  interest  any  one, 
and  in  fact  I  don't  know  that  these  will,  but  it  is  in  the 
bill,  and  I  am  compelled  to  go  through  with  the  per 
formance,  but  I'll  make  it  short. 

I  intended  to  state,  that  man  is  a  creature  of  habit. 
Now  amidst  other  festive  demonstrations,  it  was  necessary 
to  have  a  speech ;  so  the  Honorable  Charles  J.  Faulkner 
was  called  upon.  It  must  be  considered,  that  it  was  get 
ting  late  in  the  day,  and  that  wine  had  been  used  ad  Libi 
tum.  The  courteous  Minister  rose,  and  said :  "  Fellow 
countrymen,  upon  this  anniversary  of  our  national  inde 
pendence,  we  feel  that  it  behooves  us  to  celebrate  it  in  a 
manner  becoming  worthy  sons  of  those  noble  sires,  who 
fought,  bled,  and  died,  in  Freedom's  cause — and  stand- 
17 


250         SCEAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  .TABLE. 

ing,  as  I  do,  here  beneath  these  wide-spreading  elms — ." 
Here  I  left,  as  there  was  not  a  tree  in  a  half  mile,  and  I 
felt  satisfied,  'twas  the  force  of  habit,  and  nothing  else, 
showing  the  influence  of  Fourth  of  July  orations,  at  points 
where  there  were  wide-spreading  elms. 

There  goes  another  officer,  passing  my  window  as  I 
write,  always  grinning,  ever  humorous,  and  constantly  in 
fun  or  frolic,  ready  for  cards,  ball,  fight,  or  a  foot-race. 
Who  is  he?  The  Blood  Hound.  Yes;  that  agree 
able  looking  individual  is  Captain  Harris,  called,  by 
common  consent,  the  "  Tennessee  Blood  Hound."  It  is 
hard  to  realize,  that  a  man  can  smile  and  kill ;  yet  they 
say  Harris  will  take  a  chew  of  tobacco,  and  draw  a  bead 
upon  the  enemy's  eye  with  equal  non-chalance.  There 
is  something  in  the  depths  of  that  man's  flashing  eye,  that 
reveals  the  unrest  of  ill-restrained  passion,  that  like  the 
snake,  charms  while  it  stings.  I  don't  like  to  fight  men 
like  Harris  ;  you  are  hurt  before  you  know  it ;  a  laugh 
one  minute,  and  a  death-blow  the  next. 

This  is  a  gre£t  place  to  study  human  nature — this 
prison.  Look  at  Lieutenant-colonel  Wood,  of  the  famous 
Natchez  troop  of  cavalry.  There  he  goes,  coat  off,  hat  in 
hand ;  he  is  playing  town-ball,  running  and  cheering  as 
lustily  as  the  youngest  player  in  the  party — the  entire  set 
looking  like  the  boys  upon  the  college  campus.  And  yet 
see  Colonel  Wood  in  the  fray,  amid  the  clash  of  sabres 
and  shriek  of  minies,  and  he  is  a  tiger,  a  brave,  gallant, 
dashing  soldier.  Lieutenant-colonel  Wood  is  a  son  of 
the  surgeon-general  of  the  United  States  army. 

There  goes  a  Texas  Eanger  ;  buckskin  hunting-shirt, 
and  leggins  of  the  same  material.  If  any  man  has  read 
the  tales  of  our  borders,  Texas  and  her  conflicts  with  the 
Mexican  and  the  savage,  he  has  not  failed  to  feel  inte 
rested  in  the  history  of  these  rangers.  Recklessly  brave, 
splendid  horsemen,  (as  they  ride  like  the  Commanches, 
while  the  animal  is  at  full  speed,  picking  a  coin  from  the 
ground,  while  they  retain  the  saddle,)  and  of  great  power 
and  endurance,  they  are  formidable  enemies.  Captain 
Austin  is  one  of  these,  and  is  a  man  of  fine  physique  and 
prepossessing  manners.  A  good  idea  suggests  itself  to  me 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        251 

for  cavalry ;  it  is  the  ranger's.  Take  a  cup,  fill  it  with  all 
kinds  of  spices,  take  a  peck  of  corn-meal,  swing  it  in  a  bag 
over  your  horn  or  crupper,  and  when  hungry,  take  a  tea- 
spoonful  of  spice,  half  a  cup  of  corn-meal,  mix  with  water, 
and  'twill  satisfy  you  for  the  day  in  an  emergency.  The 
above  quantity  will  sustain  life  in  a  nourishing  manner 
for  twenty  days. 

In  looking  out  of  my  window,  at  the  few  representa 
tives  of  that  famous  battery,  the  Point  Coupe  artillery, 
who  are  with  us  in  prison,  I  am  forcibly  impressed  with 
the  fact,  that  some  of  the  best  blood  of  America  is  con 
fined  within  these  prison  walls.  Lieutenant  Legendre,  a 
young  Creole,  of  New  Orleans,  and  a  cousin  of  General 
Beauregard,  is  now  promenading  the  campus.  He  is  one 
of  the  most  courtly  looking  gentlemen  in  prison ;  his  face 
alternating  in  flashes  of  pleasant  thought  and  clouds  of 
present  troubles,  expressed  in  the  glittering  eye,  and 
frowning  brow  ;  he  is  possibly  thinking  of  the  Crescent 
City,  of  Royal  street,  and  the  St.  Louis,  and  of  his  pleas 
ant  home ;  which  thoughts  are  broken  by  the  reality  of 
his  foul  imprisonment,  and  the  fiery  Frenchman  frets. 
They  are  a  great  people,  the  Creoles  of  Louisiana  ;  and 
among  the  most  distinguished  soldiers  in  the  Confederate 
service,  are  those  who  have  been  fledged  under  the  wing 
of  the  pelican. 

Lieutenant  D'Aubigne  is  a  descendant  of  the  great 
writer  of  that  name,  and  to  look  at  the  pensive  cast  of 
features  and  thoughtful  brow,  you  can  easily  discover 
traces  of  the  author  of  the  history  of  the  Reformation. 
These  young  Frenchmen  are  disinterested  patriots,  having 
left  affluence  and  position  behind  them,  to  face  disease, 
death,  or  imprisonment,  for  the  cause  they  have  espoused. 
In  them  we  see  the  days  of  chivalry  revived,  and  they 
should  feel,  that  it  is  no  disgrace  to  be  a  prisoner.  Lafay 
ette  languished  in  prison,  so  did  the  present  Emperor  of 
France,  and  so  have  the  great  and  good,  of  all  ages,  and 
we  are  but  mortal,  and  must  bend  to  the  fiat  of  destiny. 
Yet  our  motto  is,  nil  desperandum,  which  will  sustain  us, 
until  we  leave  these  quarters ;  after  which  we  hope  to 


252  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON -TABLE. 

have  a  better  appreciation  of  the  troubles  of  those  who 
have  suffered  before  us,  and  may  come  after  us. 

To-day,  prison  life  was  illumined  by  a  female  form,  one 
of  grace  and  elegance,  Mrs.  Colonel  Bryan,  who  visits 
her  brother,  Captain  Sam.  Thompson,  a  prisoner  with  us. 
Her  appearance  infused  new  life  into  our  prison  circles. 
It  seems,  as  if  there  is  something  more  soothing  and 
refreshing  in  the  rustle  of  female  garments,  than  in  any 
of  the  other  modifiers  of  the  prison  worry  ;  the  step  of  a 
gentle,  loving  woman,  with  her  winning  smile,  and  cheer 
ful  presence,  are  well-springs  of  joy  to  the  suiferer.  Mrs. 
Bryan,  as  she  visited  the  hospital,  conscious  of  nothing 
but  woman's  duties  and  her  mission,  seemed  like  a  fairy 
visitation,  to  the  sick  and  weary  soldier,  as  she  moved 
over  the  campus,  the  thousand  prisoners  thought  of  home, 
and  their  loved  ones.  This  lady  traveled  thousands  of 
miles,  without  an  escort,  subject  to  the  inconveniences 
and  exposure,  incidental  to  such  a  trip,  for  the  purpose  of 
assisting  in  ameliorating  the  condition  of  the  sick  in  pris 
on,  and  provide  for  the  comforts  of  her  brother,  one  of 
the  truest  soldiers  in  the  service. 

An  ice-cream  saloon  has  been  opened  under  the  cheering 
auspices  of  a  warm  day,  and  twelve  hundred  panting  pris 
oners.  The  conception  of  the  institution,  originated  with 
Lieutenant  D.  B.  Griswold,  of  the  engineer  corps ;  who 
argued,  that  the  prospects  for  getting  out  were  rather 
slim — so  he  concluded  he  would  try  and  freeze  out.  Lieu 
tenant  Griswold  makes  cream  for  the  sick,  for  which  they 
seem  quite  grateful.  The  proprietor  of  this  establishment 
is  assisted  by  Lieutenant  William  Swiney,  of  Memphis, 
who  is  a  brave  and  faithful  soldier.  Lieutenant  Griswold 
has  much  humor,  stands  his  imprisonment  better  than  the 
best  of  us  ;  his  spirits  never  flag,  is  always  disposed  to  be 
accommodating,  makes  pies  for  others  to  eat,  and  rings 
for  others  to  wear  ;  is  always  on  hand  at  base-ball  or  crib- 
bage ;  in  fact,  I  don't  know  what  we  would  do  without 
"  Griz."  I  first  met  the  lieutenant  at  camp  Chase.  If 
it  was  wet,  he  was  pleased ;  if  it  was  dry,  it  suited  him  as 
well ;  hot  or  cold,  it  was  all  the  same ;  and  with  this 
happy  faculty,  for  adaptation  to  circumstances,  Lieutenant 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  253 

Griswold  is  enabled,  to  make  himself  one  of  the  most 
agreeable  gentlmen  in  prison. 

A  squad  of  prisoners,  who  have  been  on  parole,  are 
now  entering  the  "big  gate."  This  arrival  is  attracting 
more  than  ordinary  attention,  as  they  have  been  on  pa 
role,  and  are  supposed  to  bring  us  news.  Captain  Morton, 
of  the  Thirty-second  Tennessee,  steps  in ;  he  is  immedi 
ately  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  prisoners,  and  is  distribu 
ting  the  latest  papers  to  his  friends.  Captain  Morton  has 
the  reputation  of  being  a  fine  officer.  Lieutenant  Weller 
is  of  Taylor's  battery ;  also  an  accomplished  and  energetic 
officer,  is  receiving  the  congratulations  of  his  friends. 
Captain  T.  Wood  and  Colonel  Steadman  pass  in,  and  the 
"  big  gate  "  closes.  Colonel  Steadman  is  one  of  the  best 
soldiers,  Alabama  has  sent  to  the  field.  Captain  Wood 
is  eminent  for  courage  and  judgment. 

In  spite  of  the  superintendent's  falsehoods,  threats,  and 
misrepresentations,  only  four  men  have  taken  the  oath  ; 
and  to  show  the  class  of  men,  who  are  faithless,  I  will 
state  that  one  is  the  poet — Bill  Kupert ;  his  taking  the 
oath  is  to  be  expected,  when  one  refers  to  that  c/iandoic 
effusion.  Lieutenant  Rupert  is  a  native  of  Illinois,  and 
was  an  assistant  in  a  Southern  restaurant.  Another  is 
Colonel  Smith's  ostler,  who  was  allowed  to  come  with  us. 
He  is  a  Swiss,  and  very  ignorant.  The  other  two  are 
natives  of  Pennsylvania  ;  one  of  whom  made  a  speech  in 
Sandusky,  the  night  of  his  release,  in  which  he  stated,  he 
had  been  forced  into  the  Confederate  army.  The  San- 
dusky  "  Register,"  (that  filthy  sheet,)  was  honest  enough 
to  rebuke  the  author  of  this  falsehood,  in  a  well-timed 
article,  the  spirit  of  which  was,  that  while  they  welcomed 
the  traitors  to  their  ranks,  it  was  the  first  time  they  had 
ever  heard  of  officers  being  forced  into  the  army.  Not 
one  of  these  traitors  was  a  Southern  man.  Placards  had 
been  posted  in  prison,  inviting  us  to  take  the  oath,  which 
were  torn  down  by  the  prisoners  in  five  minutes.  As  the 
traitors  went  out,  they  received  a  succession  of  groans 
from  the  friends  of  the  cause  they  had  deserted. 


254  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  ^TABLE. 


CHAPTER  X. 


ATTEMPT  TO  ESCAPE.— SIMPLICITY  OF  A  PRISONER.— NERVOUSNESS 
IN  PRISON.— LIEUTENANT  RANKIN  AND  HIS  CAT.— MRS.  BATTEL.— 
A  SINGLE  ARRIVAL.— THE  ABOLITION  DEITY— ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 
—NOT  AN  ENGLISHMAN  IN  PRISON.— MEMPHIS  "GONE  UP."— MILI 
TARY  DISTINCTION.— "PETTY  THIEVING."— FIRING  BY  PLATOONS. 
—"ARREST  OF  CIVILIANS."— WINDING  UP  OF  "SCRAPS."— "  TRIP 
TO  DIXIE,"  ETC. 

T  IEUTENANT  Green  Duncan  having  heard  of  the 
I  1  brilliant  exploits  of  Dick  Turpin,  also  of  the  present 
puissant  Emperor  of  France,  Louis  Napoleon's  (the 
greatest  statesman,  with  one  of  the  most  comprehensive 
military  minds,  of  this,  or  any  age,  and  whose  history  of 
Csesar  stamps  him  as  a  profound  thinker,  and  ripe  scholar,) 
hegira  from  Ham,  concluded  that  nothing  is  impossible, 
save  the  preservation  of  the  republic  of  the  United  States, 
man  having  a  capacity  for  self-government,  having  been 
proven  an  hypothesis  of  error,  and  in  a  few  years,  the 
sleek  bell-ringer  of  the  star  chamber  at  the  Federal  Capital 
will  accept  peaceably,  the  robes  of  royalty,  that  a  people 
(tied  hand  and  foot)  will  tamely  submit  to  see  thrust 
upon  him  by  his  usurping  colleagues  ;  and  the  little  stars 
(those  military  satraps,)  who  Hoat  in  the  circle,  (some  of 
them  in  whiskey,)  of  their  lord  and  master  William 
H.  Seward,  will  be  as  ready  to  imitate  in  this  particular, 
as  they  have  the  excesses  of  the  powers  that  be,  in  their 
crusade  on  the  South,  among  the  most  prominent  being 
William  T.  Sherman*  and  Philip  Sheridan.t  The  night 

*  General  Sherman  ordered  thirty  families  out  of  Memphis,  in  1862.  as  re 
taliation,  (so  he  said,)  "your  guerrillas  firing  on  our  transports."  Why  did  he 
order  out  of  Memphis,  women  and  children,  innoeent  of  any  participation  in 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  255 

was  tearfully  stormy,  yet  Duncan,  with  that  intrepidity  so 
peculiar  to  the  citizens  of  that  State  that  furnished  the 
great  Breckinridge,  the  most  perfect  gentleman,  erudite 
scholar,  and  gallant  soldier,  that  this  century  has  produced. 
Where  is  the  compeer  of  John  C.  Breckinridge  of 
Kentucky  ?— left  the  building,  and  groping  his  way  to  the 
open  field,  crawled  to  the  fence,  passing  the  stream  of 
light  that  crossed  the  path  from  the  reflectors,  undiscovered, 
as  he  had  taken  the  advantage  of  a  drain,  which  ran  to 
the  lake,  and  which  was  covered  with  grass.  He  com 
menced  sawing  one  of  the  posts  that  supported  the  fence, 
when  he  struck  a  nail,  and  becoming  excited,  (and 
possibly  a  little  vexed,)  rather  than  wait  until  the  tramp 
of  the  relief  would  deaden  the  sound,  pulled  at  the  plank, 
and  it  came  off  with  a  ripping  sound,  that  vibrated  from 
one  end  of  the  wall  to  the  other,  and  most  unfortunately, 
a  sentinel  whom  he  had  not  discovered  in  his  eagerness 
to  saw  out,  was  on  the  wall  immediately  above  him,  who 
exclaimed,  "  halt,"  and  lowered  his  musket.  Duncan 
seeing  the  polished  bayonet  in  the  gloom,  hallooed, 
"  Raise  your  gun,  you  yankee  scoundrel,  or  you  are  a 
dead  man."  The  sentinel  obeyed  orders  either  from  habit 
or  imagining  that  the  rebel  had  a  torpedo  in  his  pocket, 
and  Duncan  taking  advantage  of  his  surprise,  ran  like  a 
turkey,  and  was  soo.n  too  far  in  the  murky  gloom,  for  the 
balls  (a  score  of  which  were  fired  at  him,)  to  do  any 
damage.  The  Lieutenant  lost  his  saw,  the  Yankees  some 

the  so-called  offences  of  their  male  relatives  ?  Why  did  he  not  rather,  send 
out  his  gorriilas,  selecting  them  from  the  Eighth  Missouri,  where  they  could 
have  fought  men,  instead  of  burning  down  houses,  murdering  inoffensive  citi 
zens?  (as  they  did  in  the  case  of  thai  esteemed  citizen  of  Memphis,  Columbus 
Alexander,  Esq  )  The  reason  he  vented  his  spite  on  these  defenseless  families 
(the  writer's  being  one  of  them,)  was  to  carry  out  his  doctrine,  ''that  war  is 
cruelty,"  a  policy  to  which  he  faithfully  adhered  at  Memphis  and  Atlanta.  His 
boasted  march  to  the  sea,  has  been  beaten  by  Weston,  as  it  was  only  a  feat  of 
pedestrianism,  there  being  no  enemy  in  front  of  him.  As  a  marauding  expe 
dition,  it  was  a  human  sirocco,  leaving  nought  but  desolation  in  its  track. 

f  Sheridan  boasted  of  having  destroyed  two  thousand  well  filled  barns  in 
the  valley  Shenaudoah  ;  Sherman  left  nothing  of  the  property  of  their  felloic- 
citiz&iis.  Let  the  civilized  world  take  these  men,  (with  Butler,  the  beast ;  N. 
P.  Banks,  a  nobody  ;  Sehurz.  a  blasphemer  ;  Pope,  the  braggart ;  that  Munch- 
ausen  Kilpatriek ;  that  English  adventurer,  Wyndam,)  and  compare  them 
with  John  C.  Breckinridge,  Robert  E.  Lee,  Joseph  E.  Johnson,  Stonewall 
Jackson,  Leonidas  Polk,  6.  T.  Beauregard,  and  Kirby  Smith,  and  discriminate 
between  the  vandalism  of  the  former,  and  the  forbearance  of  the  latter 


256  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON«TABLE. 

ammunition,  and  the  author  obtained  a  sensational 
paragraph. 

As  we  moved  from  the  depot  to  the  boat,  at  Sandusky, 
Ohio,  a  densely  packed  crowd  surrounded  us,  many  of 
whom  were  women  ;  some  of  the  latter  abusing  us  in 
unmentionable  language,  and  going  so  far  as  to  spit  at  us, 
and  it  took  the  united  efforts  of  the  guard  to  prevent  their 
mobbing  us  in  that  most  damnable  of  all  places,  that  sink 
of  Abolitionism,  where  they  mob  defenceless  prisoners, 
but  don't  send  soldiers  to  the  front  unless  they  can  find 
some  poor  Irishman*  or  German,  who  they  can  get  drunk, 
enlist  him,  and  then  steal  his  bounty.  While  the  rush  of 
prisoners  and  of  guards  was  making  to  the  boat,  one 
stalwart  Confederate,  with  an  immense  overcoat  enveloping 
his  person,  had  lagged  behind,  but  on  noticing  the  last 
prisoner  tile  off  the  gangway,  and  fearful  of  being  left, 
rushed  eagerly  on  to  the  stage-plank,  where  he  was  sud 
denly  halted  by  the  guard. 

"  Get  off  this  boat,  we  don't  want  any  of  you  fellows 
talking  to  rebel  prisoners." 

"  Let  me  pass,  I  am  a  rebel  ?" 

"  Get  off,  I  tell  you,  or  I'll  stick  about  an  inch  of  this 
bayonet  into  you." 

"  If  you  don't  think  I'm  a  goodreb,  look  at  my  buttons," 
(unbuttoning  his  overcoat,  displaying  the  well-known 
Confederate  uniform  to  the  astonished  guard,)  who  said  : 

"  Get  aboard,  you're  a  d — d  fool,  than  Thompson's  colt" 

"  That  may  be  so,  Yank,  but  Jim  P.  never  deserts  his 
crowd." 

The  Lieutenant  could  have  made  his  escape  easily,  by 
the  aid  of  his  citizen's  coat,  and  if  he  had  known  as  much 
as  he  does  at  present,  it  is  probable  he  would,  but  as  we 
only  learn  from  experience,  the  Lieutenant  may  profit  by 

*  The  United  States  Army  was  composed  as  follows  :  Germans,  176,800; 
Irish,  144,200  ;  British  Americans.  53  500  ;  English,  45,500  ;  other  foreigners, 
48.400;  nationalities  unknown,  26,500;  of  the  colored  troops,  (who  fought 
nobly,)  200,000.  Total,  694,900.  Add  to  these,  twelve  or  fifteen  thousand 
officers,  nine-tenths  of  whom  were  Americans ;  the  host  of  provost  guards, 
teamsters,  ambulance  drivers,  hospital  attendants,  assistant  quartermaster 
and  assistant  commissary  departments,  and  the  other  bomb-proof  estab- 
lishmeuts,  all  filled  with  native  Americans,  and  w«  find  that  of  the  thou- 
sounds  who  have  been  offered  up  to  appease  the  thirst  for  blood  of  Yankee 
Abolition  fanaticism,  about  seventy-five  per  cent,  of  them  were  foreigners. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  257 

his  lesson,  and  may  not  be  so  enthusiastic  in  his  devotion 
to  his  crowd,  the  next  time  a  Yankee  guard  attempts  to 
change  his  front  to  rear,  while  moving  towards  a  Yankee 
bastile. 

'Tis  passing  strange,  how  nervous  one  gets  in  prison. 
There  goes  Colonel  John  Minter,  of  the  Fortieth  Ten 
nessee,  as  brave  a  man  as  ever  drew  a  sword,  yet  John  is 
dreadfully  nervous  in  durance  ;  he  walks  to  and  fro, 
beating  his  breast  in  the  region  of  the  heart,  until  one 
could  imagine  he  would  loosen  its  pericardium.  He 
imagines  he  has  heart  disease.  Not  a  bit  of  it ;  it  is  only 
pulsating  in  response  to  the  beat  of  it's  better  half  that  is 
palpitating  in  unison,  in  the  cheerless  solitude  of  the 
colonel's  old  home  in  Dixie.  There  passes  another 
nervous  individual,  Captain  Humes ;  he  stalks  about  the 
Campus,  brooding  in  nervous  silence  over  his  misfortunes. 
The  captain  is  a  man  of  mark,  a  one-idea'd  man,  who 
loses  sight  of  all,  but  his  objective  point  would  make  an 
enthusiast  or  a  fanatic  ;  is  of  that  class  of  men  who  make 
magnificent  failures  or  achieve  great  results.  I  hope  the 
latter,  for  the  brave  captain.  The  'Tour  d'Auvergne  of 
the  army,  Colonels  Baker  and  Avery,  are  decidedly  ner 
vous.  When  the  news  is  favorable  in  relation  to  exchange, 
they  dance  and  leap,  and  beat  their  heads  against  the 
wall ;  when  'tis  bad,  they  are  among  the  most  despondent. 
In  applying  the  term  nervous  to  these  gentlemen,  I  use 
it  in  a  double  sense,  colloquial  and  otherwise,  for  while 
the  officers  mentioned,  are  susceptible  to  nervous  attacks, 
they  have  strong  wills  and  resolute  action.  The  writer, 
colloquially  speaking,  is  nervous,  and  will  continue  to  be 
so  until  he  gets  out  of  this  pen,  as  no  man  of  sensibility, 
can  be  calm  under  the  abuse  to  which  the  prisoner  is 
subjected.  Nervousness,  however,  is  not  peculiar  to  the 
prisoner  ;  all  men  are  nervous  and  imaginative.  Colonel 
George  H.  Monsarratt,  a  distinguished  officer  of  the 
Confederate  States  army,  with  one  of  the  most  compre 
hensive  minds  I  ever  knew,  said,  "  I  asked  Graves,  whom 
I  had  visited  a  short  while  prior  to  his  death,  (and  who 
was  as  true  and  brave  a  man  as  the  State  of  Kentucky 
ever  produced,)  how  he  felt."  "Ah,  Monsarratt,  my  pain 


258  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

i 

is  all  here,"  said  the  sufferer, -pointing  to  his  groin,  the 
place  where  he  shot  Cilley,  of  Maine,  in  that  celebrated 
duel,  in  which  General  Webb  played  so  distinguished  a 
part.  Graves  was  nervous  and  sensitive,  yet  of  dauntless 
courage.  The  Honorable  Solon  Borland  told  me  that 
on  one  occasion,  a  cannon  ball  passed  near  him,  producing 
such  an  effect  on  his  nervous  system  that  he  felt  as  it* 
losing  half  his  dimensions  in  his  involuntary  shrinking, 
and  Colonel  Borland  was  a  man  of  unquestioned  courage. 
I  have  known  Alexander  McClung,  the  great  duellist,  to 
pace  his  room  the  entire  night  with  the  candle  burning, 
and  McClung  had  the  courage  of  a  lion.  Ergo,  nervousness 
is  admissable  in  Johnson's  island.  I  remember  that 
gallant  officer  Lieutenant  Samuel  L.  Cowan,  who  became 
so  nervous  in  camp  Chase,  that  he  contrived  to  get  out. 
A  frigid  individual  would  never  ''have  made  the  trip." 
I  believe  the  most  of  us  are  nervous,  yet  all  don't  show  it. 
My  accomplished  friend,  Dr.  Becker,  is  passing  under  my 
window,  humming  a  line  from  Goethe — 

"Kennst  du  das  Land  wo  die  Zitronen  bluehen." 

When  the  Doctor  gets  nervous,  he  goes  to  his  fiddle, 
Which  furnishes  him  with  a  pleasant  auxilliary  in  warring 
against  ennui. 

Lieutenant  Rankin  has  a  cat,  (I  do  not  give  a  history 
of  Whittington  and  his  cat,)  the  male  of  the  story,  i.  e. 
the  genus  /iomo,  (or  possibly  the  cat  may  be  a  tommy  for 
all  I  know,)  who  thought  he  would  lind  the  streets  of 
London  paved  with  gold,  was  mistaken  as  Rankin  may 
be,  if  he  thinks  the  paths  of  a  prisoner  are  strewn  with 
flowers.  However,  from  his  own  standpoint,  the  cat 
astrophe  of  his  finale  is  not  yet  fully  developed,  as  the 
gallant  lieutenant  thinks  he  rnay  get  out ;  but,  (that  is  a 
great  word,  it  signifies  a  great  deal,  much  depending  on 
the  application  of  the  parlance,)  Lieutenant  Rankin  has 
found  a  cat,  and  sits  smoothing  its  glossy  back,  as  happy 
as  a  mother  with  her  first  hopeful.  I  wonder  if  he  thinks 
that  the  nature  of  this  animal  assimilates  much  to  our  own, 
rub  a  cat  one  way  ninety-nine  times,  and  it  will  purr,  then 
tread  on  it's  tail,  and  'twill  scratch  ;  do  most  men  ninety- 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        259 

nine  favors,  and  they  respond  amen,  refuse  their  demand 
in  a  solitary  instance,  they  forget  the  favors  and  abuse 
you.  Lieutenant  Rankin,  however,  intends  to  retain 
the  cat,  yet  his  delicate  form  leads  us  to  believe  that  he 
will  not  get  pussy. 

In  addition  to  our  cat,  we  have  two  ducks,  two  dogs, 
(I  mean  four-legged  ones,)  one  hen  and  brood,  and  are 
beginning  to  feel  quite  domesticated,  concluding  to  make 
a  virtue  of  necessity,  and  if  we  can't  get  out,  we'll  raise 
stock.  Lieutenant  Eankin  is  a  pleasant  gentleman, 
remarkable  for  his  great  conversational  powers  and 
gallantry  in  the  field,  is  a  native  of  Kentucky,  and  one 
of  the  first  volunteers  from  that  great  commonwealth,  to 
respond  to  the  call  to  arms  to  repel  the  vandal  invader. 

Mrs.  Battel,*  the  widow  of  the  lamented  son  of  that 
noble  Tennessean,  Colonel  Battel,  visited  us  to-day.  It 
was  a  sad  sight  to  see  this  young  and  estimable  woman, 
in  her  mourning  weeds,  cut  off  from  her  protector,  and 
compelled  to  buffet  a  heartless  and  pitiless  world  ;  yet 
with  her  crushed  feelings  and  her  delicate  constitution, 
she  has  passed  the  ordeal  of  insulting  guards  and  wearisome 
travel,  to  visit  the  suffering  and  lonely,  in  prison.  The 
visit  of  Mrs.  Battel  teaches  us  a  lesson,  that  our  mothers 
and  sisters,  wives  and  daughters,  are  displaying  fortitude 
and  courage,  that  would,  if  needs  be,  (like  the  Hindoo 
widow),  mount  the  burning  pile  for  our  glorious  cause. 

Lieutenant-colonel  Bennett,  of  the  Sixth  Mississippi, 
arrived  to-day.  The  arrival  of  one  officer  is  barely 
noticed,  yet  Colonel  Bennett  being  a  positive  character, 
did  not  fail  to  have  his  arrival  heralded  by  a  half  dozen 
stragglers  who  had  been  watching  the  ' '  big  gate, "  wishing 

*  The  war  exhibited  to  the  world,  the  virtues  and  courage  of  Southern 
women,  in  action,  prose  and  poetry.  The  energy  and  courage  of  Miss  Belle 
Edmonson,  of  Tennessee ;  B -lie  Boyd.  of  Virginia;  Mrs.  Matloek,  of  Missis 
sippi  ;  Miss  Ann  Nelson,  Miss  Nettie  Coleman,  of  the  same  State,  are 
a  part  of  the  history  of  our  late  struggle.  The  author  well  remembers  the 
risks  ran  by  these  brave  women,  in  assisting  our  cause.  Compare  their  ac 
tions,  and  the  soul-stirring  poetry  of  Miss  Ready,  L.  Virginia  Smith,  of  Louisi 
ana,  Estelle,  (Mrs.  Brown,  of  Memphis,  Tennessee,)  aud  a  hundred  others, 
famous  in  our  sunny  land,  with  the  fanatical,  heartless  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe  ; 
the  strong-minded,  ugly,  weak-headed  Anna  Dickinson,  and  a  hundred  others 
of  such  wishy-washy  advocates  of  women's  rights,  and  Southern  ladies  lose 
nothing  by  the  comparison. 


260  SCEAPS  FROM  THE  PBISQN  TABLE. 

for  the  magical  words,  "  Open,  sesame,"  (which  are  as 
distant  in  reality,  as  the  forty  thieves  of  Alababa  are  to 
the  same  ilk'  in  Hoffman's  battalion,  not  duces,}  or  for 
the  strength  of  Samson  to  lift  the  gates  as  he  did  those  of 
Gaza.  However,  as  wishing  could  do  no  good,  they 
wisely  concluded  to  wait  the  moving  of  the  waters,  (of 
exchange,)  and  while  waiting,  Bennett  came  in,  and  was 
immediately  surrounded  by  the  curious.  The  colonel 
being  a  man  of  good  judgment  and  observation,  we 
accept  his  news  as  the  most  reliable  or  any  received  since 
our  incarceration. 

It  is  amusing  to  witness  the  efforts  of  the  Abolitionists 
to  deify  their  master,  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  "jokist." 
Is  he  as  strong  as  the  elephant  ?  Has  he  the  courage  of 
the  lion  or  the  tiger  ?  Can  he  run  like  the  ostrich,  or 
leap  like  the  kangaroo  ?  Has  he  the  cunning  of  the  fox, 
or  the  agility  of  the  monkey  ?  Can  he  crawl  like  a  snake, 
or  climb  like  a  squirrel  ?  Can  he  dive  like  a  duck,  or 
swim  like  a  fish  ?  He  has  brains,  so  has  a  hog ;  he  can 
talk,  so  can  a  parrot.  Can  he  fly  like  the  eagle  ?  Has 
he  the  gratitude  of  a  dog  ?  Can  he  see  like  the  owl,  in 
the  dark,  or  a  hawk,  in  the  light  ?  When  he  was  an 
infant,  if  placed  on  the  edge  of  a  precipice,  he  would  roll 
off,  while  a  kitten,  a  week  old,  could  hardly  be  pushed 
from  her  hold  ;  and  yet,  these  ignorant  fanatics  worship 
man,  and  that  man  Abraham  Lincoln.  Man  is  inferior 
to  the  brute  creation  in  the  physical  world,  as  a  rule. 
The  exceptions  are  as  follows: 

Butler  is  king  of  beasts  ;  Lincoln  was  fleeter  than  the 
ostrich,  (in  passing  through  Baltimore;)  Stevens,  of 
Pennsylvania,  more  venomous  than  the  snake  ;  Turchin, 
fiercer  than  the  hyena ;  Logan,  of  Illinois,  is  a  greater 
spouter  than  the  whale,  and  equally  as  watery  ;  Brownlow, 
of  Tennessee,  the  hoggiest  of  all  wallowers ;  Horace 
Maynard,  more  stolid  than  the  jackass. 

None  of  these  political  scavengers  have  the  respectability 
of  the  elephant,  as  he  always  carries  his  trunk,  while  they 
are  nothing  but  carpet-baggers. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  we  have  not  a  representative 
of  "perfidious  Albion,"  in  prison.  We  have  the  sturdy 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  261 

Teuton,  the  chivalric  Gaul,  the  gallant  Celt,  but  John 
Bull  is  not  with  us.  "  Where  the  carcass  is,  there  will 
the  eagles  be  gathered,"  and  as  the  surly  Briton  believes 
in  the  heaviest  artillery  deciding  the  gage  of  battle,  and 
the  North  being  the  possessor  of  this  force,  he  casts  his 
lot  with  the  superior  power,  in  the  endeavor  to  sack  the 
South  and  enslave  a  free  people.  Since  time  immemorial, 
England  has  been  a  nation  of  territorial  robbers  ;  she  has 
oppressed  mankind  in  the  East  Indies,  making  the  ex 
cesses  of  Clive  historic ;  in  China,  in  the  West  Indies,  and 
America,  North,  East,  South  or  West,  'tis  all  the  same. 
Wherever  the  beat  of  a  British  drum  is  heard,  or  the 
British  flag  unfurled,  there  stalks  oppression  and  violence. 
One  of  her  victims  is  Ireland,  the  down-trodden  and  op 
pressed  Green  Isle,  the  land  of  that  immortal  patriot,  Em- 
mett.  When  will  she  take  her  place  among  the  nations  of 
the  earth  ?  Only  when  her  people  are  united,  and  then 
let  them  wipe  that  political  blot  from  the  map  of  Europe. 
Treacherous  to  her  enemies,  faithless  to  her  friends,  (she 
caged  the  great  Napoleon,  like  a  wild  animal,  who  had 
trusted  to  her  generosity,)  she*  has  has  aided  in  bringing 
on  the  unhappy  strife  in  our  own  land ;  as  where  govern 
ments  are  to  be  broken  up  to  benefit  English  commerce, 
she  spares  neither  blood  nor  treasure  in  accomplishing 
her  unholy  purposes.  The  English  politician  prates  of 
England  and  her  past  history.  What  is  it  ?  A  bastard 
aristocracy,  composed  of  natural  sons  of  merry  monarchs  ; 
a  line  of  kings,  whose  history  is  written  in  blood.  (As 
to  monarchy,  the  author  does  not  object  to  it.)  Oneness 
of  power,  in  all  material  matters,  is  the  best  conservator 
of  law  and  morals.  The  most  despotic  governments  are 
recognized  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  in  the  New  our 
Saviour  said,  "  Render  unto  Caesar  the  things  that  are 


*  England  has  furnished  the  North  men,  (nearly  50,000  Englishmen  were 
enlisted  in  the  Federal  army,)  and  the  South,  munitions  and  vessels,  to  aid  in 
our  destruction  as  a  great  nation.  An  Englishman,  an  office-holder  in  the  op 
pressed  South,  one  of  those  political  waifs  that  the  war  has  thrown  to  the  sur 
face,  (the  South  being  the  carcass  for  all  such  eagles,)  says  to  the  writer,  "  The 
Radicals  have  elected  me  to  office,  and  I  have  accepted,  and  a  pretty  d — d  feol 
I'd  be  to  refuse.  I  don't  care  a  d — n  which  side  whips.  Your  country's  gone 
to  h — 1,  and  if  there  are  any  loaves  and  fishes  comeatable,  Johnny  Bull  comes 
in.  It's  a  fat  carcass,  and  I  am  a  first-class  eagle." 


262  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

Caesar's.  Each  circle  must  have  its  centre,  and  no  cor 
poration  can  be  permanent  without  a  sovereign  head. 
Since  the  organization  of  society,  governments  when 
bereft  of  the  strength  of  a  monarchy,  even  though  despotic, 
and  the  wisdom  of  an  aristocracy,  although  licentious, 
have  ran  riot  with  the  anarchial  excesses  of  democracy, 
showing  the  incapacity  of  man  for  self-government.  The 
world,  for  thousands  of  years,  has  witnessed  repeated 
trials  of  this  fallacious  system  of  self-government,  all  of 
which  have  proven  failures ;  and  the  conflict  in  America, 
to-day,  for  a  sentiment,  is  a  useless  waste  of  blood,  as  the 
days  of  the  republic  are  numbered,  and  there  may  be  those 
living  who  will  see  kings  enthroned  in  America,  not  from 
any  desire,  but  from  one  of  those  natural  laws  that  seems 
to  decree  that  as  a  man  is  made  in  the  likeness  of  his 
Creator,  the  comparison  shall  apply  to  all  the  details  of 
his  action,  while  carrying  out  the  object  of  his  Being. 

Kings  are  feeble,  yet  true  representatives  of  this 
singleness  of  administration,  that  is  a  reflex  of  the  God 
head,  and  which  is  ordained  to  rule  in  the  world,  and 
any  change  in  the  character  of  this  delegated  power, 
from  the  Great  Author  of  our  being,  to  the  anointed  on 
earth,  will  be  attended  with  disaster.  The  true  theory 
of  government  is  supreme  power  in  the  chief  of  the 
nation,  the  subordination  of  the  people,  to  human 
strength,  prepares  them  for  yielding  obedience  to  their 
spiritual  heads,  as  in  all  democracies,  there  is  a  tendency 
to  intidelity,  and  it  is  alone  to  despotic  governments,  that 
we  are  to  look  for  religious  subordination.  The  settler 
on  Plymouth  rock  is  a  n't  descendant  of  the  English  poli 
tician,  for  while  their  forefathers  were  murdering  East 
Indians,  they  were  imitating  them,  in  destroying  the 
aborigines  of  America,  despoiling  them  of  their  lands, 
and  seducing  their  women,  and  as  Black  Hawk  said, 
poisoning  their  hearts  with  flre-water;  and  now,  their 
descendants  are  causing  rivers  of  blood  to  flow  through 
the  land,  and  the  Negro  is  meeting  with  the  fate  of  the 
Indian.  The  murderer  and  despoiler,  who  is  he?  The 
author  of  the  war,  who  is  he?  The  plunderer  of  homes, 
and  the  destroyer  of  household-gods,  who  is  he?  This 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        263 

besom  of  destruction,  that  is  sweeping  all — liberty,  peace, 
and  prosperity,  from  the  country,  leaving  nought  in  its 
track,  but  the  wail  of  the  widow  and  orphan,  no  light 
but  burning  homesteads  to  show  the  traveler,  where  once 
stood  the  homes  of  a  free  and  happy  people;  from 
whence  cometh  it,  who  is  the  author  of  all  this  hellish- 
ness,  that  has  made  a  saturnalia  for  the  North;  and 
David  said  unto  Nathan,  "Thou  art  the  man;"  you,  tjie 
mean,  whining,  prying,  hypocritical,  white-livered,  Negro- 
stealing,  fanatical  Yankee,  a  fit  shoot  of  the  round-head 
English  politician,  that  sang  psalms  and  cut  throats,  and 
who  would  enchain  the  w^orld,  and  make  it  bow  the  knee 
in  homage  to  the  British  lion  and  Yankee  eagle,  who 
alone  seek  and  destroy  their  prey,  when  it  is  defenseless. 

'Tis  reported  in  prison  to-day,  that  Memphis  has  sur 
rendered  to  the  Yankees,  arid  those  that  are  prisoners, 
hailing  from  that  place,  have  the  "  blues." 

Captain  Jeannett,  who  resigned  a  handsome  field  posi 
tion,  to  accept  one  in  the  line,  where  he  thought  he 
could  be  more  useful  to  his  cause,  is  a  fine  drilled  officer, 
and  an  ardent  supporter  of  Southern  rights.  Captain 
Hall,  captured  at  Fort  Donaldson,  a  thorough  gentleman, 
with  one  of  the  best  legal  minds  in  prison.  Captain 
Hugh  Bedford,  a  thorough-bred  soldier,  in  bearing,  in 
formation,  and  courage.  Captain  Abe  Levy,  one  of  the 
truest  men  living,  and  a  score  of  other  Memphians,  whom 
the  fortunes  of  war  have  cast  into  prison,  are  condoling 
with  each  other.  My  friend  Lieutenant  Jack  Wright,  of 
Alpheus  Baker's*  regiment,  "drops  in,"  and  says  to  con 
sole  us, 

'"Well,    Memphians,    if  old  Memphis  has  gone,    'let 

her  rip. '"f 

Jack  Wright  is  one  of  my  warmest  friends,  full  of  gen 
erous  promptings,  true  as  steel  to  his  friends,  and  as 
they  say,  "  never  flickers  "  under  fire.  The  surrender 

*  Alpheus  Baker,  was  one  of  the  few  officers  who  improved  *in  his  continued 
service,  he  was  promoted  for  gallantry,  at  Baker's  Creek,  (where  he  was 
wounded,)  and  in  his  new  position  as  "  brigadier,"  made  a  gallant  fight,  to  the 
close  of  the  war. 

f  The  "  let  her  rip  "  (letter^  of  America,  is  the  theta  of  our  language,  "show 
ing  the  anarchial  tendency  of  our  times,  towards  violence,  rapine  and  abandon. 


264  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISOJJ  TABLE. 

of  Memphis,  has  produced  one  good  result,  it  has  placed 
us  in  communication  with  our  loved  ones,  and  furnished 
us  an  opportunity  to  add  to  our  stock  of  ' 4  filthy  lucre. " 

Some  one  has  said,  "  Generals  say,  go  on,  Captains  say, 
come  on ;  the  Generals  gather  laurels,  the  Captains  cy 
press  ;  the  former  become  candidates  for  the  Presidency, 
the  latter  for  the  grave."  There  is  much  truth  in  this, 
and  it  does  more  to  demoralize  an  army,  (this  withholding 
of  the  award  of  merit  from  line-officers,)  than  the  influence 
of  overwhelming  numbers  of  an  enemy.  There  are  four 
important  officers  in  the  service — Generals  commanding, 
colonel,  captain,  and  orderly  sergeant ;  the  others,  unless 
on  detached  duty,  are  to  a  greater  or  less  degree — file- 
closers.  In  many  instances,  the  advancement  of  general 
officers  is  promoted  by  intrigue  ;  line-officers  overlooked 
through  the  same  influence  ;  merit  is  not  considered,  and 
the  "  come  on "  of  the  captain  is  followed  ordinarily  by 
death  or  wounds,  rather  than  promotion. 

It  takes  a  man  of  brains,  of  vast  comprehensiveness, 
and  stoical  courage,  to  make  a  General ;  and  you  may 
obtain  such  characters  from  the  "  cloister,"  (as  in  the  case 
of  Bishop  Polk,  of  Louisiana,  now  one  of  our  most  dis 
tinguished  Generals,)  from  the  "bar,"  (as  in  the  case  of 
Preston  Smith,*  of  Tennessee,)  or  from  the  plow,  loom, 
or  anvil,  shown  in  a  score  of  military  lights,  representing 
these  different  interests.  A  ten  year  old  boy  will  make 
a  drill-master,  but  he  would  not  be  prepared  for  the 
emergencies  of  the  field,  while  there  are  many  officers, 
who  would  be  equal  to  almost  any  occasion,  yet  are  sadly 
defective  in  the  details  of  drill ;  yet  of  the  two  evils,  the 
judgment  of  the  one,  without  drill,  is  preferable  to  the 
knowledge  of  an  expert  in  Scott  or  Hardee,  without  judg- 

*  General  Preston  Smith  was  killed  near  Atlanta,  in  one  of  those  series  of 
conflicts,  between  a  vastly  inferior  force  of  the  Confederates,  under  that  .threat 
commander,  Joseph  E.  Johnson,  (who  alone  could  have  managed  that  won 
derful  retreat,  in  the  face  of  an  overwhelming  foe,  from  Dalton  to  Atlanta.) 
Preston  Smith,  although  educated  to  the  bar,  was  born  a  soldier,  a  strict  dis 
ciplinarian,  courageous  to  rashness.  As  an  organizer  and  leader  he  had  few 
superiors.  He  was  one  of  the  few  Generals,  who  risked  the  "  cypress  "  to  de 
serve  the  "laurel ;"  and  in  his  death,  the  Confederacy  lost  one  of  her  staunch- 
est  supporters,  and  the  army  one  of  its  most  valiant  soldiers.  His  last  words 
were :  "I  have  tried  to  do  my  duty." 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.         265 

ment.  There  are  few  officers,  who  are  blessed  with  the 
happy  faculty,  of  combining  these  two  virtues,  so  neces 
sary  to  success  in  military  life.  Yet,  I  believe,  we  have 
one  exception  in  prison,  Lieutenant  John  Childress,  of 
Murfreesboro',  Tennessee,  who,  while  having  one  of  the 
best  balanced  heads,  in  our  pen,  and  every  mental  require 
ment  for  a  commander,  is  one  of  the  best  drilled  officers  in 
the  service ;  a  gentleman  in  deportment,  genial  in  his 
companionship.  He  is  a  worthy  representative  of  that 
distinguished  family,  from  which  he  sprang. 

The  meanest  trick,  of  all  the  rascality  of  some  of  our 
custodians,  is  the  purloining  of  rings,  buttons,  and  other 
souvenirs,  for  friends  and  loved  ones,  that  are  daily 
mailed,  and  as  they  pass  through  the  hands  of  the 
"sifter's,"  subordinates,  many  are  extracted  before  the 
letters  are  forwarded.  This  little,  petty  thieving  is  too 
contemptible  for  notice,  but  as  a  faithful  chronicler  of  the 
Sir  John  Froissart  school,  who  says,  "In  such  a  grand 
and  noble  history  (as  you  like  it)  as  this,  of  which  I,  Sir 
John  Froissart,  am  the  author  and  continuator  until  this 
present  moment,  through  the  grace  of  God,  and  the 
perseverance  he  has  endowed  me  with,  as  well  as  in 
length  of  years,  which  have  enabled  me  to  witness 
abundance  of  the  things  that  have  passed,  it  is  not  right 
that  I  Jorget  anything,"  and  as  an  humble  imitator  of 
Sir  John,  I  must  not  forget  any  of  the  many  rascalities 
of  our  custodians. 

We  have  had  firing  at  us  by  companies  from  the  walls, 
also  individual  firing,  (at  will;)  last  night  it  came  by 
platoons.  A  few  officers  engaged  in  playing  cribbage, 
were  so  unfortunate,  as  to  neglect  putting  out  their  lights 
the  moment  "taps"  sounded,  not  imagining,  that  the 
dereliction  of  a  few  moments  would  be  attended  with  the 
danger,  which  they  found  it  was,  as  a  volley  came  in  at 
the  window.  Fortunately  no  one  was  hit ;  but  the  les 
son  was  heeded,  as  no  mercy  could  be  expected,  from 
men  who  are  merciless.  It  has  been  a  timely  warning  to 
other  messes,  to  furnish  not  the  slightest  pretext  to  our 
barbarous  guard  to  find  fault,  with  our  want  of  prompt  and 
punctual  observance  of  the  severe  rules  of  our  prison,  as 
18 


266  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISQF  TABLE. 

all  they  desire,  is  any  excuse  to  murder  us,  individually 
or  en  masse. 

The  arrival  of  three  hundred  civilians  in  prison,  has 
been  alluded  to  in  another  "  scrap."  This  is  another  one 
of  those  high-handed  outrages,  that  has  made  the  cabal 
at  Washington  more  notorious,  than  that  lawless  ministry 
of  Charles  II.  What  right  has  that  miscreant  at  Wash 
ington,  that  party  ghoul,  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  to  arrest 
citizens  of  a  sovereign  State,  and  confine  them  on  the 
stale  bread  and  blue  beef  of  a  prison?  All  over  the  land, 
American  citizens  are  torn  from  their  hearths  and  fire 
sides,  from  the  communion  of  their  household  Gods,  their 
houses  searched,  no  privacy  respected,  and  incarcerated 
in  foul  dungeons.  Captain  T.  Harrison  Baker  is  in  one  of 
these,  (at  Fort  Lafayette,)  manacled.  The  capitol,  at 
Washington,  is  filled  with  the  best  men  of  the  country, 
who  have  been  brought  there  through  the  instigation  of 
Stanton,  and  the  tinkling  of  Oily  Gammon's  (Seward's) 
little  bell.  Fort  Warren  and  other  bastiles  are  filling  up 
rapidly,  all  in  the  name  of  Liberty.  The  three  hundred 
gentlemen,  driven  into  our  pen,  are  among  the  most  dis 
tinguished  citizens  of  Kentucky  ;  Dr.  Hobson,  Colonel 
Murray,  and  other  citizens,  eminent  as  ministers  of  the 
Gospel,  lawyers,  physicians,  merchants,  and  farmers.  All 
grades  are  taken,  none  spared ;  no  matter  the  health, 
condition,  or  sex,  all  must  be  victims  to  this  infernal 
tyranny,  that  is  causing  the  name  of  American  to  be 
looked  upon  among  civilized  nations  as  the  synonim  of 
savage. 

Four  months  experience  in  prison,  has  produced  this 
collection  of  "scraps,"  thus  conglomerated  from  the  prison 
table — 'tis  true  they  are  not  so  rare  as  those  that  would 
fall  from  the  china  of  servres,  and  I  hope  my  readers  will 
make  allowances  for  tin  plates,  boiled  beef,  and  sour 
bread.  You  can't  expect  tit-bits  from  such  a  source,  and 
if  you  do,  and  are  disappointed,  why,  'tis  your  misfortune, 
and  want  of  forethought,  not  my  fault.  I  expect  the 
work  will  be  run  down  by  its  readers,  all  works  are,  in 
fact,  there  is  more  matter  in  it  already  than  I  would  read  ' 
of  any  one's  else — therefore,  as  it  will  be  run  down,  I'll 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  267 

give  it  a  good  winding  up.  Then,  again,  everybody  is 
winding  up — the  suttler,  the  vegetable  man,  the  milk 
andice  man  are  all  winding,  and  so  by  way  of  follow 
ing  their  illustrious  example — I'll  wind  up.  Not  that 
I  expect  half  the  running  down  that  will  be  accorded 
to  these  honest  men,  for  that  would  take  centuries  to 
wind  up,  as  to  their  faculties  to  wind  up  their  affairs,  the 
deponent  saith  not.  I  have  written  the  above  "  scraps  " 
because  I  have  had  nothing  else  to  do.  I  tried  to  make 
a  ring,  and  failed,  but  would  have  commenced  again,  (but 
after  looking  at  a  box  and  a  set  of  chess-men,  exquisitely 
carved  and  designed,  that  would  take  a  prize  at  any  fair 
in  the  world,  made  with  a  file  and  knife  by  Captain 
AVinn,  of  the  Fourteenth  Mississippi  Regiment,  who  made 
it  as  a  souvenir  for  his  mother,)  I  concluded  that  talent 
must  be  inherent,  and  I  had  no  talent,  mechanically 
speaking.  Captain  Winn  is  a  fine  officer  and  a  polished 
gentleman,  yet  I  think  he  had  better  turn  his  attention  to 
the  chisel,  as  his  conception  s  are  wonderful,  peculiarly  so, 
when  'tis  known  that  he  never  had  an  instrument  in  his 
hands  before.  Finding  I  could  not  make  anything 
mechanical,  I  wondered  what  I  would  do  to  amuse  my 
self.  'Twas  possible  to  get  up  a  newspaper.  Captain 
Provine,  of  the  "  Fulton  Telegraph,"  Fulton,  Missouri, 
and  Captain  McCranie,  of  Jackson  Parish,  Louisiana,  both 
sprightly  writers,  were  willing  to  join,  and  with  the  press 
gang  already  alluded  to,  would  have  formed  a  corps  that 
could  have  entertained,  as  well  as  instructed;  but  no  one 
led  off,  and  I  thought  'twould  be  no  go.  So  in  self-defence, 
I  was  compelled  to  write  ' '  scraps, "  and  offer  the  accumula 
tion  to  the  public,  as  a  memento  of  howr  we  did,  and  felt, 
in  prison.  I  think,  't\vill  be  interesting  for  future  refer 
ence  for  ourselves,  because  if  we  get  out,  (which  I  hope 
we  will  in  a  short  while,)  in  a  few  years,  we  could  hardly 
remember  a  score  of  our  fellow  prisoners,  and  this  little 
collection  will  remind  us  of  scenes,  and  refresh  us  with 
more  vivid  recollections,  of  what  we  were  in  prison.  It 
will  also  be  interesting  from  the  fact  that  the  best  blood 
of  the  country  is  within  these  walls,  many  men  of  note, 
whose  names  will  shine  upon  the  pages  of  history,  in 


268  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

time  to  come.  Lieutenant  Colonel  Wood,  (a  relation  of 
President  Davis,  and  a  son  of  the  surgeon  general  of  the 
United  States,)  of  the  Adam's  cavalry,  a  fearless  officer. 
Captain  McDonald,  of  Nicaragua  fame,  and  a  rebel  from 
boyhood.  Here  we  have  a  nephew  of  D'Aubigne,  a  cousin 
of  Beauregard  ;  Lieutenant  Legend  re  ;  the  Folk's  ;  the 
Pillow's ;  the  Overtoil's,  of  Tennessee.  Lawyers  and 
Divines,  Senators  and  Congressmen,  are  all  represented, 
and  as  their  future  will  be  more  or  less  interwoven  with 
the  history  of  the  Confederacy,  I  feel  that  as  a  book  of 
reference,  this  little  collection  may  be  of  some  value.  I 
often  think,  in  looking  out  of  my  window,  seeing  men  like 
Major  Kavanaugh,  stern  and  inflexible,  while  engaged  in 
youthful  pastimes,  how  strangely  we  all  act  while  in 
prison.  Kavanaugh  \vould  march  on  a  battery  with  as 
much  non-challance,  as  he  would  light  a  fresh  Havana.  It 
will  be  interesting,  to  follow  these  officers  in  their  future- 
career,  and  see  what  bacomes  of  them.  They  say  we  will 
be  exchanged  in  a  few  days,  and  then,  Ho  !  for  Dixie.  1 
hope  'twill  be  so,  and  that  we  will  all  arrive  home,  safe  and 
sound,  that  I  will  publish  this  little  work  to  the  satisfac 
tion  of  my  friends,  and  delight  of  my  enemies.  (Oh!  that 
mine  enemy  might  write  a  book,)  and  the  twelve  hundred 
Confederate  officers,  who  have  endured  the  past  incarcera 
tion  with  me,  and  now  with  the  disposition  to  get  away 
from  this  "lake-girt  isle"  as  soon  as  possible.  Accept 
the  salaam  of  the  author,  and  allow  hint  to  say,  not 
"  finis,"  but  in  prison  slang,  "  well,  a  good  evening." 

We  leave  this  day,  September  1st,  1862,  our  "lake- 
girt  isle."  The  guards  are  coming  in,  the  roll  is  being 
called,  "Captain  B.,  company  A,  First  Alabama,  Tennes 
see  and  Mississippi  Regiments."  The  writer  responds,  and 
thanks  to  a  kind  Providence,  steps  clear  of  the  "big  gate  " 
and  stands  without  the  accursed  walls  of  a  prison— 

"  A  prison,  heavens!  I  loathe  the  hated  name, 
Famine's  metropolis— the  sink  of  shame, 
A  nauseous  sepulchre — whose  craving  womb 
Hourly  inters  poor  mortals  in  its  tomb." 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE         269 

A  free-born  American  citizen,  confined  in  a  loathsome 
prison,  as  a  punishment  for  fighting  for  freedom  and 
"State  rights,"*  rights  that  the  intelligent  North  must 
admit  as  the  true  theory  of  a  republican  form  of  govern 
ment.  We  board  the  little  boat,  the  line  is  cast  off,  and 
we  are  once  more  upon  the  bosom  of  Sandusky  bay,  free 
from  the  foul  air  of  a  prison,  rid  of  the  presence  of  the 
miserable  wolf  of  a  custodian,  and  his  heartless  subordi 
nates.  It  is  a  glorious  feeling  to  be  free,  known  alone 
to  those  who  have  suffered  imprisonment.  The  sensation 
is  exquisite,  and  is  expressed  in  laughing  eyes,  and  glow 
ing  cheeks.  My  friend,  Captain  W.  R.  Butler,  of  Mur- 
freesboro',  Tennessee,  usually  calm  and  reticent,  one  of 
the  most  accomplished  soldiers  in  the  Confederate  army, 
is  alive  with  the  joyousness  of  the  occasion.  Standing,  as 
many  of  us  are,  near  the  ' '  taffrail, "  gazing  at  the  island 
that  is  now  receding  rapidly  from  view,  having  no  regrets, 
but  those  engendered  by  the  thought  that  we  leave  our 

*  The  author  is  still  firm  in  his  belief  in  the  integrity  of  the  principle  of  State 
rights,  while  a  republican  form  of  government  exists  in  this  country,  and  if 
might  does  make  right,  in  the  policy  of  the  fanatical  "  powers  that  be,"  it  can 
not  change  one  Southern  man's  opinion,  who,  while  submitting  to  brute  force, 
and  accepting  the  issues  that  defeat  has  forced  upon  his  devoted  land,  (the 
South,  the  Mecca  of  carpet-baggers  and  thieves,  the  scummiest  of  the  scum  of 
the  North,)  still  firmly  adheres ~to  not  a  sentiment  but  a  principle,  true  and 
fixed,  the  sovereignty"  of  the  States  of  a  confederation,  not  a  nationality,'  and  in 
spite  of  imprisonment,  or  other  decrees  of  punishment,  that  the  vultures  of 
fanaticism  would  fasten  upon  a  citizen  of  this  confederation — (such  as  the 
hanging  of  the  innocent  Mrs.  Surratt;  the  manacling  of  Jefferson  Davis  ;  the 
arrest  and  ironing  of  Ryan,  of  Arkansas  ;  the  slow  torture  of  American  citi 
zens  on  the  DryTortugas  ;  and  every  other  conceivable  mode  of  punishment, 
known  to  a  barbaric  tyranny,  the  writer  will  ever  rigidly  adhere  to  a  principle 
that  involves  the  right's  and  liberties,  not  only  of  the  so-called  unreconstructed 
States,  but  of  each  and  every  State  in  the  Union. 

Messrs.  Jacobins,  be  honest  for  once,  show  the  cloven  foot  entire,  and  give 
us  a  monarchy,  the  term  "  Republic  "  is  a  mis-nomer.  You  have  the  despotic 
disposition,  the  rapacious,  desire,  the  cruel  conception,  and  criminal  action  of  a 
Czar's  government,  without  its  expressed  honesty,  you  have  stamped  out  with 
the  iron  heel  of  brute  force,  the  liberties  of  millions  of  your  fellow  citizens. 
Oppression  rules  the  land  ;  the  whistle  of  the  ballet,  and  the  glisten  of  the 
knife  of  the  assassin  are  the  only  sound  and  lights,  that  reverberate  and  flash 
o'er  the  South,  a  land  more  pillaged  than  the  historic  ravages  of  the  Palatinate. 
Desolated  hearths,  fatherless  children,  outraged  women,  ignorant  and  besotted 
Africans  placed  in  power,  the  sanctity  of  the  ballot-box  invaded,  law  and  order 
derided,  in  the  name  of  a  republican  form  of  government.  Fie,  fie,  ye  Marats 
and  Robespierres,  come  down  from  your  republican  perch,  take  off  your 
flimsy  disguise,  and  proclaim  a  despotism,  'tis  what  you  aim  at,  so  let's  have 
it.  The  writer  has  no  objections,  but  is  opposed  to  the  deception  practiced 
in  the  name  of  liberty,  giving  us  the  stalking  shadow  of  a  free  government, 
while  the  substance  of  a  royal  despotism  is  seen  behind  this  skeleton  of  Radi- 
camisin. 


270  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISO^  TABLE. 

dead  in  unhallowed  ground,   and  wondering,   that  if  the 
"Sandusky  Register,"  and  "New  York  Tribune,"  were 
cast  into  the  "bottomless  pit,"  thus  nauseating  it,  could 
it  throw  up  a  fouler  combination  than   the  custodians  of 
Johnson's  island,  and  their  sympathizers  in  Sandusky  city. 

"  A    FAREWELL   TO    JOHNSON'S    ISLAND." 

Penciled  by  an  unknown  hand  upon  a  wall  of  one  of 
the  prison  buildings  at  Johnson's  island,  it  will,  doubt 
less,  prove  interesting  to  those  who  have  been  inmates  of 
that  prison  ;  nor  will  it,  it  is  hoped,  fail  to  strike  the  eyes 
and  move  the  hearts  of  those  who  have  friends  that  rest 
beneath  the  soil  of  the  lake-girdled  isle  : 

"  Hoarse  sounding  billows  of  the  white-capped  lake, 
That  'gainst  the  barriers  of  our  hated  prison  break, 
Farewell !     Farewell  thou  giant  inland  sea ; 
Thou,  too,  subservest  the  modes  of  tyranny, — 
Girding  this  isle,  washing  its  lonely  shore 
With  moaning  echoes  of  thy  melancholy  roar, 
Farewell,  thou  lake  !  Farewell,  thou  inhospitable  land ! 
Thou  hast  the  curses  of  this  patriot  band- 
All,  save  the  spot,  the  holy  sacred  bed, 
Where  rest  in  peace  our  Southern  warriors  dead ! 

We  left  Johnson's  island  on  the  1st  day  of  September, 
1862.  The  morning  was  ominous  of  a  gloomy  trip  ;  dark 
and  portentous  clouds  hung  loweringly  o'er  us,  and  boded 
storm.  The  little  baggage  we  possessed,  was  sent  to 
Sandusky,  the  day  before,  where  was  witnessed  a  scene  of 
plunder  on  a  scale  that  would  have  rivalled  the  exploits 
of  an  Alaric  or  Atilla.  Mercury,  the  God  of  thieves, 
would  have  been  an  honest  man  in  Sandusky.  They 
broke  open  trunks ;  many  things  that  were  not  stolen 
were  damaged,  and  a  perfect  spirit  of  vandalism  seemed 
to  actuate  the  examiners  of  our  baggage,  who  searched 
valises  for  mountain  howitzers,  and  trunks  for  twenty- 
four  pound  parrots,  while  they  would  examine  pockets 
for  Springfield  muskets. 

We  do  not  hold  the  United  States  government  re 
sponsible  for  this  outrage,  but  wish  to  show  that  a 
government  must  not  always  be  held  responsible  for  the 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        271 

malfeasance  of  its  underlings.  I  hope  the  citizens  of  the 
North  will  understand  and  appreciate  the  application. 

We  reached  Sandusky  city,  that  hole  of  Abolitionism, 
and  took  our  respective  stations  on  the  cars.  Being  well 
seated  and  comfortable,  while  waiting  for  the  cars  to  start, 
a  generous  gentleman  stepped  to  the  window,  (I  have 
forgotten  his  name,)  and  handed  a  bottle  of  the  ardent  and 
a  large  pound-cake  ;  said  he  was  a  good  democrat,  and 
true  to  his  flag,  but  could  not  be  insulting  to  prisoners,  as 
most  of  the  citizens  of  that  place  were.  The  next  day  we 
arrived  at  Indianapolis.  At  this  point  our  traveling 
sorrows  began ;  and  here,  again,  was  exhibited  either  the 
stupidity  or  rascally  meanness  of  underlings.  We  were 
crowded  into  cattle  cars  with  narrow  plank  benches,  and 
like  a  drove  of  wild  animals,  were  rushed  oif.  We 
were  on  these  cars,  in  this  crowded,  I  may  say  packed, 
manner  thirty-six  hours,  and  the  reader  can  imagine  we 
would  be  necessarily  ill,  sore,  bruised.  We  suffered  so 
much  in  one  or  all  of  these  discomforts,  and  were  so 
covered  with  filth,  that  we  were  piteous  objects  to  behold. 
Giving  way  to  sleep,  I  would  fall  between  the  narrow 
apertures  that  separated  the  planks,  and  while  one  com 
panion,  who  used  the  weed,  would  squirt  the  juice  of  a 
bad  article  of  "  Old  Virginia,"  in  one  eye,  he  being  half 
asleep,  another  chum  would  advise  me  of  the  fact  that  he 
wore  boots,  by  closing  my  other  eye  with  the  heel  of  one  of 
them.  This  was  all  bad  enough,  and  it  seemed  as  though 
our  powers  of  endurance  had  been  strained  to  their  utmost 
tension,  yet  worse  treatment  was  in  store  for  us. 

Cairo*  is  reached;  a  city  that  has  no  equal  in  the 
number  of  its  bad  smells,  except,  possibly,  the  city  of 
Cologne  as  described  by  some  traveler,  and,  I  am  sure, 
that  the  different  qualities  of  mean  whiskey  far  exceed 
the  number  of  bad  smells.  We  were  immediately  driven 
on  board  the  Choteau,  a  crazy  old  tub,  and  in  such  a 
condition  that  the  engineer  kindly  suggested  to  us  not  to 
shift  rapidly  in  any  numbers  from  one  side  of  the  boat  to 
the  other,  as  her  boilers  were  very  weak,  and  an  explosion 

*  Cairo,  under  the  press  influence,  controlled  by  that  prince  of  editors,  John 
Oberly,  Esq.,  has  improved  wonderfully  since. 


272  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

might  be  the  result.  However,  they  dove-tailed  .one 
thousand  one  hundred  and  thirty  of  us,  excluding  us  from 
the  cabin,  it  being  reserved  for  the  guard  and  the  sick. 
I'll  assure  the  reader  it  was  quite  lively,  locating  one 
thousand  one  hundred  and  thirty  men  on  the  outside  of 
an  old  boat,  stowing  us  on  the  coal  heaps,  'midst  the 
machinery,  with  one  little  stove  for  us  all  to  cook  on.  It 
was  an  outrage  of  most  glaring  character,  as  they  could 
have  obtained  other  boats,  furnishing  us  with  comfortable 
transportation.  Under  the  pretence,  that  we  must  wait 
for  other  prisoners  to  fill  up  the  convoy,  they  detained  us 
at  Cairo  four  days  and  nights,  exposed  to  the  broiling  sun, 
rain,  and  foul  air,  many  of  us  sick  and  half-fed,  during  the 
sickly  season  of  the  year.  Again  we  say,  we  don't  hold 
the  government  responsible,  but  our  treatment  from 
subordinates  was  frightfully  cruel.  While  here,  we  saw 
one  of  the  many  evidences  of  radical  inconsistency.  I 
had  requested  permission  of  Lieutenant  Lennelle,  to  step 
to  the  wharf  to  speak  to  some  one  who  had  asked  for  me, 
when  to  my  astonishment,  I  saw  a  brawny-looking  speci 
men  of  the  Puritan  race,  laying  on  unmercifully,  with  a 
large  horse-whip,  to  several  Negroes  who  were  basking  in 
the  sunshine;  he  yelling,  cursing,  and  slashing,  alter 
nately.  I  turned  to  Lieutenant  Lennelle,  whose  face  was 
a  study  for  a  painter,  and  asked  him  if  he  was  not 
astonished. 

"  Why,  captain,  that  is  the  grossest  outrage  I  ever  saw 
committed,  it  is  inhuman,  I  will  report  that  man,"  said 
the  astonished  lieutenant,  "and  have  him  punished,  if 
possible." 

"  Lieutenant  Lennelle,  I  never  saw  a  slave,  in  my  years 
of  experience  in  the  South,  so  brutally  beaten,  even  when 
convicted  of  crime,  and  it  seems  strange  that  such  a 
spectacle  attracts  so  little  attention  in  the  free  State  of 
Illinois.  Lieutenant,  the  slave  has  merely  changed  mas 
ters." 

At  last  we  prepared  to  depart,  and  in  anticipation  of 
the  terrible  trip  from  Cairo  to  Vicksburg,  were  sad  and 
dejected,  yet  there  were  some  master-spirits  with  us  whose 
energies  never  flag,  and  who  are  ever  alive  and  equal  to 


I 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  273 

all  issues  and  occasions  where  the  man  is  called  upon,  to 
do,  to  suffer,  or  to  die,  if  needs  be,  for  his  kind.  Among 
the  most  active  and  zealous,  being  that  noble  gentleman 
Captain  C.  F..  Johnson,*  of  that  Old  Roman  Buckner'sf 
staff,  who  chartered  a  boat,  the  Diligent,  assumed  the 
responsibility  of  payment,  which  was  two  thousand  dollars, 
for  accommodations  for  one  hundred  passengers.  Thanks 
to  the  kind  otfers  of  my  friend  Johnson,  I  was  one  of  the 
favored.  The  owner  of  the  boat  had  recommended  her 
highly,  and  it  was  with  pleasurable  emotions  that  we 
changed  from  the  Choteau,  to  the  Diligent.  Although  it 
was  painful  to  leave  our  coirirades  on  the  old  Choteau,  yet 
we  could  not  do  them  any  good  by  remaining,  and  in 
creased  their  comfort  by  leaving.  It  seems  to  me  that 
if  Captain  Johnson  could  have  chartered  a  boat,  the 
authorities  could  have  done  the  same,  showing  there  was 
no  necessity  for  herding  us  like  cattle  in  our  own  filth, 
as  was  the  case  on  the  Choteau.  I  had  not  a  sownarque, 
but  the  word  of  a  Confederate  soldier  in  1862,  was  good 
to  a  brother  soldier.  Out  we  steamed  into  the  river,  and 
our  tortuous  passage  began.  Gun-boats  in  front  of  us, 
gun-boats  in  the  rear  of  us,  and  some  six  thousand  emaciated 
creatures  between  them.  They  said,  "  many  of  us  looked 
well!"  True,  those  who  had  fine  constitutions,  stood  it, 
but  they  were  "  few  and  far  between."  Many  of  the 
regiment  to  wljch  I  was  attached,  looked  well,  yet  out  of 
four  hundred  men  led  into  prison,  April  the  8th,  1862, 
over  one  hundred  were  taken  out  feet  foremost  before 
September  1st,  of  the  same  year,  (four  months  and 
twenty-one  days,)  a  terrible  ratio  for  men  who  were  so 
well  treated.  On  getting  fairly  started,  we  examined  our 
floating  elephant,  and  found  sleeping  accommodations  for 
thirty  persons,  in  state-rooms,  that  had  been  used  a  score 
of  trips  for  the  conveyance  of  wounded  and  dying  soldiers, 
the  effluvia  from  whose  bodies  had  impregnated  every 
pore  in  the  room,  defying  a  Hercules  to  cleanse  them.  I 
opened  the  door  of  one  room,  but  my  olfactories  rebelled, 


*  Captain  Johnson  is  (now  1868)  of  the  firm  Tyler,  Johnson  &  Co.,  Louis- 
Xentucky. 
ckner,  editing  in  Louisville,  that  sterling  paper  the  "  Louisville  Journal." 


ville,  Kentucky. 


274  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  .TABLE. 

and  I  concluded  to  sleep  on  the  deck.  To  regulate  matters, 
straws  were  drawn ;  those  sleeping  in  the  state-rooms, 
eating  at  the  second  and  third  tables ;  those  on  deck,  at 
the  first  table.  Plenty  to  eat,  and  fresh  air,  under  exposure 
is  preferable  to  a  foul  state-room  and  a  deficiency  of  aliment 

We  moved  on,  and  in  a  few  days  were  off  Memphis, 
having  had  nothing  to  disturb  the  monotony  of  the  trip, 
only  the  sad  spectacle  of  the  burial,  at  different  landings, 
of  the  sixty  poor  fellows  who  died  on  the  trip.;  a  terrible 
bill  of  mortality,  one  per  cent,  in  thirteen  days.  We 
came  to  anchor  off  the  Bluff  city,  on  a  lovely  day  in  Sep 
tember,  the  bluff's  fourth  Chickasaw,  (that  form  so  beau 
tiful  a  crown  for  the  Egyptian  Queen  of  our  modern  Nile,) 
were  garnished  with  the  beauty,  and  fashion  of  the  city. 
Lovely  women  and  brave  men  were  there  to  give  us  wel 
come.  There  were  many  of  the  latter,  whose  hearts  were 
in  the  cause,  who  remained  at  home,  for  reasons  unneces 
sary  to  mention  in  this  connection ;  and  it  had  been  bet 
ter,  if  many  of  those  who  did  go  into  the  Confederacy, 
had  followed  their  example,  as  too  many,  who  from  a 
sense  of  pride  left  their  hearths  and  firesides,  to  follow 
in  the  wake  of  our  armies,  or  to  pitch  their  social  tent  in 
some  one  of  the  many  distracted  circles  of  the  South, 
did  no  good,  and  set  the  pernicious  example  of  wild  spec 
ulation,  one  of  the  most  demoralizing  elements  of  the 
war ;  whereas,  had  they  remained,  they  oould  have  ren 
dered  much  service,  in  ameliorating  the  condition  of 
prisoners,  and  assisting  the  families  of  those  whose  pro 
tectors  were  in  the  army. 

I  writh  others,  who  had  loved  ones  in  Memphis,  was 
anxious  to  reach  the  shore.  Hour  after  hour  passed,  and 
no  prospect  of  our  desire  being  gratified.  At  last  a  small 
skiff  was  seen  to  leave  the  shore,  the  occupant  rowing  for 
the  steamer  we  were  on.  He  soon  reached  the  boat,  and 
we  found  'twas  a  news-boy,  with  the  daily  papers.  While 
those  who  had  eagerly  purchased  them,  were  reading 
them  with  avidity,  I  changed  my  military  coat  for  one  of 
linen,  loaned  me  by  that  generous  gentleman,  Lieutenant 
George  Martin,  of  the  artillery,  and  walked  quietly  down 
to  the  boiler-deck,  where  I  found  Lieutenant  "  Si  "  Hay- 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  275 

man  in  citizen's  dress,  conversing  with  the  news-boy  ;  in  a 
few  moments  Hayman  jumped  into  the  boat,  and  I  fol 
lowed,  the  boy  quietly  remonstrating.  I  told  him,  to 
hand  me  the  oars,  take  his  seat  in  the  stern,  and  with 
Hayman  in  the  bow,  I  pulled  for  the  shore,  reaching  it  at 
the  foot  of  Beale  street,  about  twenty  feet  from  one  of 
the  enemy's  mortar-boats ;  gave  the  boy  the  only  half- 
dollar  I  had,  and  walked  up  the  street,  meeting  a  host  of 
friends,  while  en  route  for  the  Gayosa  hotel,  my  objective 
point  on  landing.  Under  the  influence  of  a  famous  cate 
rer  of  the  time,  Frank  Madden's  combinations,  I  was 
enabled  to  withstand  the  flood  of  friendly  greetings,  that 
well-nigh  o'erwhelmed  me.  Memphis  was  alive,  and  the 
blood  of  her  generous  heart  was  coursing  through  Colonel 
John  Martin,  Captain  Ad.  Storm,  Colonel  Samuel  P. 
Walker,  F.  L.  Warner,  Colonel  J.  Knox  Walker,*  and 
many  others,  who  were  running  to  and  fro,  dealing  out 
money  and  other  necessaries,  with  the  liberality  that  none 
but  the  generous  can  appreciate. 

The  Confederate  prisoners  who  were  in  that  fleet,  will 
never  forget  those  whole-hearted  men,  or  thei.*  posterity. 
Even  children  were  carried  away  b/  the  promptings  of 
generosity.  One  little  girl  in  particular,  poorly  clad  and 
bare-footed,  with  a  basket  of  apples  on  her  arm,  when 
asked  the  price  of  them  by  a  soldier,  replied,  "  Nothing 
to  Confederate  soldiers ;"  and,  suiting  the  action  to  the 
word,  threw  basket  and  contents  into  the  crowd.  For 
one,  I  can  never  forget  the  material  courtesies  extended 
me,  by  Samuel  P.  Walker,  Ad.  Storm,  Frank  Hyde, 
John  Johnston,  and  John  A.  Henry. 

While  lying  at  the  wharf,  as  some  of  the  boats  had 
come  in  for  coaling  and  other  purposes,  one  of  those 

*  Colonel  J.  Knox  Walker  was  one  of  the  most  courtly  gentlemen  I  ever 
knew.  His  failing  health  compelled  him  to  leave  the  service  of  the  cause  he 
loved  so  well,  (but  his  heart  was  in  it.)  He  was  eminent,  as  a  politician  and 
financier,  and  one  of  the  most  genial  gentlemen  the  South  ever  produced.  I 
can  almost  hear  his  ringing  laugh,  as  we  parted,  while  he  hummed : 

"  If  you  get  there  before  I  do, 
Tell  them  I'm  a  coming  to." 

But  the  gallant  Walker  had  too  great  a  soul  for  a  frail  body,  and  he  has  gone 
to  that  land,  where  the  curses  of  a  vandal  foe  are  not  heard.  Peace  to  his 
ashes ! 


276  SCKAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

seeming  inconsistencies  in  the  character  and  conduct  of 
our  custodians  was  exhibited.  Captain  Wash  Gordon, 
of  Tennessee,  was  on  board  of  one  of  the  boats,  quite  ill, 
from  a  disease  contracted  at  Cairo,  during  our  exposure 
at  that  place,  and  desired  to  be  left  at  Memphis  until 
convalescent,  confident  that  the  trip  to  Vicksburg  would 
kill  him  ;  which  it  did,  he  dying  a  few  days  after  our  ar 
rival  at  that  port.  His  request  was  urged  by  some  of  the 
most  influential  citizens  of  the  place,  added  to  the  impor 
tunity  of  his  sister,  Mrs.  Sarah  C.  Law,  of  whom  we  have 
spoken  previously,  yet  the  authorities  sternly  refused, 
while  at  the  same  time  indulgencies  were  granted  in  less 
deserving  cases. 

There  were  Federal  officers  stationed  at  Memphis,  who 
were  kind  to  our  people,  while  in  the  faithful  discharge 
of  duty  to  their  government,  and  the  names  of  Chetlain 
and  Hoge,  should  ever  be  kindly  remembered. 

We  left  Memphis  in  a  storm  of  cheers  and  tears,  'midst 
the  waving  of  handkerchiefs  and  the  God-speed  of  thou 
sands  of  sympathizing  hearts.  On  arriving  at  Helena, 
General  Steele,  commanding  that  department,  came  on 
board  to  visit  Colonel  Wood,  of  Louisiana,  a  West  Point 
classmate,  who  had  the  bearing  that  education  and  gentle 
association  alone  can  furnish.  We  are  off  again  for 
Vicksburg,  nothing  to  enliven  us  except  now  and  then  the 
appearance  of  a  contraband,  who  would  emerge  from  the 
woods  with  all  his  worldly  effects  in  a  handkerchief,  and 
with  a  woe-begone  look,  signal  the  gun-boat  to  stop  for 
him,  finding  we  would  not,  would  retire  sulkily  to 
cover. 

On  the  17th  day  of  September,  1862,  ever  memorable 
to  the  Confederate  soldiers  who  formed  that  human  cargo 
of  that  fleet,  thirteen  days  on  the  river,  making  seventeen 
from  Johnson's  island,  a  trip  that  should  have  been  made 
in  five  days,  were  means  used  for  our  destruction,  whether 
the  object  was  accomplished  or  not.  At  last,  we  stepped 
on  shore  in  Dixie.  How  different  from  the  few  months 
before,  not  a  drum  beat,  bugle  blast,  nor  cheer  heard,  not 
a  flag  unfurled,  or  a  handkerchief  waved ;  it  rained  in 
torrents,  I  had  handed  my  overcoat  to  my  bed-fellow, 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  277 

at  Johnson's  island,  Captain  John  Farabe,*  of  Shelby 
county,  Tennessee,  and  hence,  got  a  thorough  soaking, 
yet  trudged  on  from  wharf  to  town,  through  the  mud  of 
Vicksburg.  It  was  a  gloomy  time,  no  enemy  to  stimulate 
us  from  without,  and  none  to  stimulate  us  within,  and  no 
shelter,  but  at  intervals,  a  friendly  shed.  Six  thousand 
soldiers,  with  the  blues,  were  adrift  at  Vicksburg,  on  a 
rainy  day ;  the  citizens  had  fed  soldiers  until  they  had 
nothing  more  to  give,  and  self-preservation  had  become 
a  law  of  nature,  yet  our  troops  did  not  force  themselves 
on  any  one,  they  fought  for  their  hearths  and  firesides, 
without  bounty,  pay,  half-clad,  hungry  and  suffering,  yet 
they  were  subordinate  to  moral  and  social  rights.  On 
wandering  around  the  streets  in  search  of  shelter,  I  noticed 
the  name  of  A.  Gennella,  on  one  of  the  many  signs  in  the 
commercial  part  of  the  city.  This  gentleman,  one  of 
Vickburg's  most  hospitable  sons,  had  known  my  father  in 
my  school-boy  days,  and  recognizing  me,  like  a  good 
Samaritan,  cared  for  me  and  my  two  friends,  Colonel 
Henderson  and  Captain  Bibb,  of  the  Fortieth  Tennessee, 
who  will  join  me  in  grateful  remembrance  of  the  generous 
hospitality  of  A.  Gennella,  and  his  estimable  family. 

Our  orders  were  to  report  to  General  Tilghman,|  at 
Jackson.  On  arriving  at  the  depot,  we  attempted  to 
mount  the  platform  of  the  car,  when  the  guard  halted  us. 

"  Can't  go  to  Jackson  on  this  train,  captain." 

"  Why  not,  sergeant  ?" 

"  Against  orders,  captain." 

Kemonstrances  were  of  no  avail,  and  Iturned  to  leave, 
when  an  old  sergeant  in  my  first  company,  (the  Gayoso 
Guards,)  Charlie  Lay,  accosted  me.  Fortunately  for  me, 
he  commanded  the  guard,  and  obtained  me  a  seat  in  the 
car.  Charlie  Lay  is  a  genial,  generous  fellow,  earned  his 
promotion  honestly,  and  wears  his  honors  most  becomingly. 
After  a  few  hour's  ride,  passed  in  pleasant  conversation 
with  the  gallant  Colonel  Heiman,  of  the  Tenth  Tennessee, 
who  occupied  the  seat  with  us,  the  sonorous  tones  of  the 
conductor  announced  "Jackson."  We  take  quarters  at  the 

*  Captain  Farabe  died  at  his  home,  in  Marshall  county,  Mississippi,  in  1866. 
f  Tilghman  killed  at  the  battle  of  Baker's  Creek. 


278  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISOtf  TABLE. 

Dixon  house.  Here  we  find  Colonel  Jim  Jackson,  General 
William  H.  Carrol,*  Colonel  Autrj,  Major  John  Dean, 
and  "Uncle"  Jimmy  Hewitt,  (as  he  was  familiarly  called.) 
Colonel  Jim  Jackson  is  as  well  known  in  the  South, 
particularly  in  North  Alabama,  as  "  Old  Hickory"  himself. 
He  was  badly  wounded  at  Manassas,  but  saved  his  life  by 
giving  a  Federal  soldier  his  watch  to  carry  him  out  of 
reach  of  shot  and  shell.  Jackson  is  one  of  the  few  men 
whose  courage  is  never  questioned  under  any  circumstances. 
Colonel  Autry  commanded  the  Twentieth  Mississippi,  and 
was  a  meritorious  officer.  Colonel  H.  W.  Walter, 
General  Bragg' s  assistant  adjutant  general,  was  also  at  the 
Dixon  house,  possessing  one  of  the  finest  legal  minds  in 
the  South,  which  added  to  his  military  abilities,  render 
him  a  worthy  counsellor  of  the  inflexible  Bragg. 

I  reported  to  General  Tilghman,  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  officers  furnished  the  South  by  the  "  dark 
and  bloody  ground,"  during  the  war,  and  to  him  and  his 
aid-de-camp,  Captain  George  Moorman,  an  officer  every 
way  worthy  of  the  confidence  of  the  courteous  Tilghman, 
I  was  indebted  for  a  twenty  days'  leave  of  absence,  (an 
exception  to  the  rule.) 

On  the  strength  of  which  I  left  for  Richmond,  seeking 
promotion  not  at  the  "  cannon's  mouth,"  but  through 
lobby  influence  at  the  capitol.  On  reaching  Charlotte, 
North  Carolina,  we  found  no  trains  left  until  the  following 
evening,  as  they  observe  the  Sabbath  in  that  State.  Four 
o'clock,  the  next  afternoon,  found  us  at  the  depot  in 
company  with  Major  Greene,  of  the  Fifty-sixth  Virginia, 
who,  like  myself,  was  anxious  to  reach  Richmond.  We 
attempted  an  entrance  into  the  car,  and  were  checked  by 
the  guard,  who  referred  us  to  his  commanding  officer, 
Major  Inge,  who,  with  his  battalion,  was  on  his  way  to 
the  'front  via.  Richmond.  I  appealed  to  the  major,  but 
for  the  time  uselessly. 

"  I  would  like  to  accommodate  you,  captain,  but  can't 


*  General  Carroll  died  in  exile,  in  Montreal,  Canada,  in  1868,  a  victim  to 
Brownlow's  tynmny,  while  he  had  when  in  power,  this  wretch  treated  with 
great  kindnes's. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  279 

consistently,  do  it.  I  pressed  these  cars  for  my  battalion, 
and  there  is  barely  standing  room  for  them." 

"But,  major,  I  must  go  on  to  Richmond,  I  am  acting 
under  orders." 

By  this  time  Inge  became  excited,  and  closed  his 
remarks  with  an  expletive,  in  response  to  which,  I  said 
with  a  severity  of  expression — 

"Let  me  tell  you,  Major  Inge,  in  refusing  me  a  seat 
you  have  done  yourself  and  the  service,  a  grievous  wrong." 

In  passing  through  Augusta,  Georgia,  I  purchased  two 
bottles  of  the  best  "  peach  and  honey"  produced  in  that 
State,  and  as  a  "  quid  pro  quo"  for  your  contumacy,  not 
one  drop  of  the  oleaginous  fluid  will  "  whet  your  whistle." 

"By  George,  captain,"  says  Inge,  "you  shall  have  my 
seat,  sir.  I  think  I  have  seen  you  somewhere  before. 
You  must  excuse  my  abruptness,  but  I  have  been  so 
annoyed  to-day,  that  I  have  overlooked  some  of  the  cardinal 
points  in  military  etiquette.  Come  in,  let  me  introduce 
you  to  Colonels  Peyton  and  Foreshay,  the  former  from 
Virginia,  and  who  was  promoted  from  the  ranks  to  a 
majority,  for  gallantry  at  the  first  Manassas  ;  the  latter, 
a  Texan,  and  one  of  the  most  accomplished  officers  of  the 
engineer  corps." 

I  found  Major  Inge  one  of  the  most  companionable 
gentleman  I  ever  met,  and  am  sure  he  makes  a  good  officer. 

Moral.  In  traveling,  there  is  no  stronger  card  of 
introduction  than  good  spirits. 

On  arriving  at  the  capital,  we  stopped  at  the  American 
hotel,  finding  things  sadly  changed  for  the  worst  in  the 
morale  of  the  Confederacy.  Carrington,  the  proprietor, 
advising  us,  when  we  dined,  to  take  our  hats  to  the  table 
with  us,  as  sixteen  had  been  feloniously  abstracted  the 
day  previous.  Among  the  first  notables  met  in  our 
promenade,  was  General  Jeff  Thompson,  of  Missouri. 
After  passing  the  compliments  of  the  day,  I  remarked : 

"  General,  I  don't  like  to  bring  up  unpleasant  remi 
niscences,  knowing  you  to  be  an  advocate  of  '  temperance 
reform,'  but  on  my  first  introduction  to  you,  at  the  Gayoso 
hotel,  Memphis,  Tennessee,  by  the  Honorable  John  Park, 
mayor  at  that  time,  (and  one  of  the  most  sensible  ones 


280  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRTSON.TABLE. 

she  ever  had,)  we  indulged  in  three  consecutive  cock 
tails?" 

"  So-so,"  says  Jeff,  "and  to  show  you  IVe  not  forgotten 
the  taste,  come  to  my  room  at  Bollard's,7'  to  which  place 
we  adjourned. 

In  spite  of  what  may  be  said  of  his  idiosyn  yoin  crasics, 
he  was  a  tower  of  strength  to  the  Confederacy. 

The  next  notable  we  met  was  Captain  T.  Harrison 
Baker,  of  the  ill-fated  privateer  "  Savannah."  Captain 
Baker  was  in  Fort  Lafayette  and  elsewhere,  fourteen 
months.  He  is  a  regular  "old  salt,"  frank  and  fearless, 
and  a  fine  commander,  and  the  city  of  Charleston  may 
well  be  proud  of  her  distinguished  son. 

We  again  move  on,  steering  for  the  war  department, 
inflated  with  anticipations  of  promotion.  On  reaching 
the  entrance  to  the  capitol  building,  we  enjoy  the  sight  of 
one  of  our  warmest  friends,  Colonel  B.  1).  Harman. 
Harman  made  character  in  Mexico,  as  a  splendid  cavalry 
offiper,  and  was  colonel  of  the  First  Confederate  infantry, 
now  consolidated  ;  one  of  the  most  popular  officers  in 
Richmond,  and  is  true  to  his  friends. 

We  finish  our  busmess  at  the  war  department,)  thanks 
to  the  courtesy  of  Colonel  Burton  N.  Harrison,  private 
secretary  to  the  President,)  to  our  satisfaction,  and  make 
our  exit.  In  the  vestibule,  we  meet  Captain  John  T. 
Shirley,  of  gun-boat  notoriety.  Shirley  was  one  of  the 
most  indefatigable  men  in  the  service.  He  took  the  con 
tract  for  building  the  famous  ram  "Arkansas,"  afterwards 
commanded  by  Captain  Isaac  N.  Brown,  formerly  a 
lieutenant  in  the  United  States  navy,  and  which  ran  the 
gauntlet  of  the  enemy's  fleel  at  Vicksburg,  a  courageous 
performance  that  redounds  to  his  credit.  Some  of  the 
most  pleasant  moments  of  my  life,  have  been  spent  in  the 
society  of  John  T.  Shirley,  whose  genial  companionship 
is  still  fresh  in  my  memory.  One  of  Shirley's  aids  in  his 
gunboat  operations,  was  Captain  D'Haven.  This  officer 
is  from  that  down-trodden  State,  Missouri;  was  the 
first  steamboatman  that  raised  the  Confederate  flag  on  the 
Mississippi  river  ;  has  been  a  great  sufferer  for  our  cause, 
is  to  the  manor  born,  and  as  a  friend  and  companion, 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  281 

stands  par-excellence  in  any  social  circle.     As  we  reacli 
our  hotel,  we  find  ourselves  grasped  by  the  hand  with  a 

frip  as  few  men  possess  like  Captain  Marsh  Miller, 
tiller  was  captain  of  the  improvised  gun-boat  Grampus, 
He  was  a  nervously  energetic  officer,  and  did  the  cause 
much  good  at  Columbus,  Island  Ten,  and  New  Madrid. 
After  paying  our  board,  we  found  that  we  hadn't  sufficient 
to  purchase  emblems  for  our  increasing  rank,  involving 
an  expense  of  five  dollars  for  two  stars.  I  called  at  the 
paymaster's  department,  and  saw  a  very  discouraging 
sign  pendant,  "  no  funds  to-day,"  which  many  brother 
officers  will  remember,  whose  daily  attendance  was  greeted 
with  the  same  ominous  characters.  Finding  my  friend, 
St.  Clair,  was  a  clerk  in  the  department,  and  explaining 
my  case  to  him,  he  introduced  me  to  his  chief,  Major 
John  M.  Mason,  son  of  the  distinguished  diplomat  John 
M.  Mason,  of  Louisina,  who,  appreciating  the  urgency  of 
my  case,  furnished  me  with  the  desired  funds.  Charley 
St.  Clair  was  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Utah. 
Under  the  auspices  of  Albert  Sidney  Johnson,  he  was 
also  a  member  of  the  Virginia  legislature.  Charley  St. 
Clair  had  too  much  sentiment  to  combat  the  jagged 
points  of  life,  and  any  dereliction  of  moral  duty  resulted 
more  from  impulse  than  confirmed  principle  of  error. 
After  being  flushed  with  funds,  and  armed  with  *a  letter 
of  introduction  from  the  Honorable  G.  A.  Henry,  of  Ten 
nessee,  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  Judah  P.  Benjamin,  I 
presented  myself  to  that  gentleman.  My  mission  was 
unsuccessful,  as  my  crime  of  having  been  a  delegate  to 
the  Bell  and  Everett  convention,  at  Baltimore,  could  not 
be  palliated  by  my  past  services.  Benjamin  showed  his 
fine  teeth,  gave  me  a  politician's  smile,  and  bowed  me 
out.  As  my  leave  of  absence  had  nearly  expired,  I  left 
Richmond.  On  arriving  at  Knoxville,  learning  that  the 
troops  were  falling  back  from  Kentucky,  I  concluded  to 
remain  in  Knoxville,  hoping  that  I  might  meet  some  of 
my  old  companions  in  arms,  in  which  desire  I  was  very 
fortunate.  General  Preston  Smith,*  one  of  the  bravest 

*  General  Smith  killed,  during  the  celebrated  Georgia  campaign,  from  Dai- 
ton  to  Atlanta. 

19 


282  '        SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISO$  TABLE. 

officers  in  the  army  ;  Colonel  Milton  A.  Ilajnes,  military 
commandant  of  the  j>ost,  a  West  Pointer,  of  enlarged 
military  views.  Knoxville  was  surfeited  with  troops. 
Had  it  not  been  for  Colonel  Ed.  Dyer,  paymaster  for 
McCowan's  division,  and  his  staff,  it  is  possible  I  might 
have  quartered  in  the  streets.  Captain  Charlie  Smith, 
his  chief  assistant ;  James  Armour,  and  the  Good  Friday 
of  the  department,  Major  Jim  Torrey,*  the  "old  chief," 
as  the  boys  called  him. 

Jim  Torrey  is  called  a  desperate  man ;  but  I  have  seen 
his  good  feelings  express  themselves  on  one  occasion,  and 
owe  him  an  everlasting  debt  of  gratitude,  for  his  kind 
attentions  to  a  sick  family  on  another,  when  it  was  trou 
blesome  to  be  attentive  to  the  wants  of  others. 

It  would  be  impossible  for  me,  to  mention  all  the  friends 
I  met  in  Knoxville.  General  M.  J.  Wright,f  formerly 
of  the  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-fourth  Senior  Regiment, 
Tennessee  Volunteers.  Marcus  J.  Wright,  is  a  self-made 
man,  and  most  eminently  deserves  the  position  his  en 
ergies  have  enabled  him  to  attain.  Colonel  J.  C.  Cole, 
Fifth  Confederate  Regiment,  Henry,  Nelson,  and  Bob 
Bowles  Rucker,  of  Island  Ten  notoriety,  Major  Ed. 
Austin,  of  New  Orleans,  and  many  other  gallant  soldiers, 
whose  march  of  seven  hundred  miles  on  that  unsuccessful 
campaign,  had  fatigued,  but  not  dispirited,  were  coursing 
through  the  streets,  trying  to  make  the  most  of  the  rest 
that  the  halt  at  Knoxville,  had  permitted  them  to  enjoy 
the  streets  of  the  little  city,  were  a  perfect  jam,  so  much 
so,  that  pedestrianism  for  civilians  was  uncomfortable. 
To  relieve  the  pressure,  General  Bragg  issued  an  order, 
that  no  one  under  the  rank  of  Brigadier-General,  should 
appear  on  the  street,  without  a  written  permit,  and 
Lieutenant  Waddell,  with  a  squad  of  cavalry,  was  ordered 
to  clear  the  streets. 

I  was  conversing  with  Captain  Charles  Bradley,  of  the 
quarter-master's  department,  when  I  saw  the  cavalry 
coming.  Bradley  remarked : 

*  Jim  Torrey,  the  "  old  chief,"  resides  in  Memphis. 

f  General  M.  J.  Wright,  farming  near  Memphis,  Tennessee. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  283 

"  Step  in  the  door,  and  after  they  pass,  we  will  go  out 
again." 

Every  soldier  in  Knoxville  seemed  instinctively  to  do 
the  same,  crowding  into  every  available  opening  in  the 
city,  reappearing  as  the  guard  disappeared  iiithe  distance. 
Several  similar  efforts  were  made  with  equal  success. 
That  army  that  contained  eighteen  hundred  barefooted 
.soldiers,  prostrated  with  their  late  disastrous  move 
ment  into  Kentucky,  and  a  majority  of  them  without 
blankets,  the  ground  being  covered  with  snow,  were  not 
in  a  condition  to  submit  to  military  orders  that  were 
cruel,  as  well  as  inexpedient.  Major  Dick  Wintersmith, 
one  of  the  best  business  men  in  the  army  in  his  depart 
ment,  of  unquestioned  courage,  a  full-blooded  Kentuckian, 
connected  with  one  of  the  oldest  families  in  the  State, 
and  who,  I  think  could  have  filled  one  cabinet  office  at 
Kichmond,  better  than  the  incumbent,  was  the  last  friend 
whose  hand  I  shook  on  leaving  Knoxville,  October  17, 
1863.  After  passing  the  night  with  Lieutenant  Hutch- 
inson,  of  the  Southern  Guards  of  Memphis,  in  the  attic 
of  a  building  well  ventilated,  as  one  of  the  gable  ends 
was  knocked  out,  this  added  to  our  other  discomforts, 
enabled  us  to  leave  Knoxville  with  but  few  regrets. 

On  arriving  at  Jackson,  Mississippi,  -  reported  with  my 
increased  rank  to  General  Pemberton,  who  ordered  me 
to  report,  by  letter,  to  Richmond.  The  post  at  Jackson 
was  commanded  by  Lieutenant-colonel  Gus.  Fonte,  who, 
although  not  an  experienced  military  commander,  adapt 
ed  himself  to  the  necessities  of  the  position,  and  made  a 
popular  officer.  At  last,  through  the  influence  of  Hon 
orable  S.  E.  Mallory,  I  was  transferred  to  the  bureau  of 
conscription,  and  appointed  Inspector-General  for  the 
department  of  Tennessee,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  and 
East  Louisiana,  where  I  am  for  the  present,  Micawber- 
like,  waiting  for  something  to  turn  up. 


ID  I 


TO  THE  YOUTH  OF  THE  SOUTH. 


WHEN  the  charge  is  made,  that  your  fathers  treated 
their  prisoners  badly,  read  this  to  •  their  false  accusers : 
That  in  a  country  filled  with  supplies,  and  with  boundless 
resourcess,  out  of  five  thousand  and  twenty-five  (5,025) 
Confederates,  imprisoned  in  Elmira,  in  the  spring  of  1865, 
thirteen  hundred  and  eleven  (1,311)  died  in  four  months, 
a  bill  of  mortality,  not  exceeded  by  the  "  Black  Hole  of 
Calcutta."  The  following  is  official : 

"THE  EEBEL  PRISONERS  AT  ELMIRA. 

"A  paragraph  has  been  going  the  rounds  of  the  Repub 
lican  press,  as  follows : 

"  'From  the  records  of  the  Elmira  prison,  which  were 
taken  to  Washington,  for  use  in  the  Surratt  trial,  it  is 
found  that  during  the  spring  of  1865.  5,025  rebel  prison 
ers  were  confined  here  during  that  time,  and  that  only 
six  deaths  occurred  in  three  months.' 

"  The  Elmira  4  Gazette '  corrects  this  statement,  and 
gives  the  figures  to  prove  its  falsity.  That  paper  has 
taken  pains  to  ascertain  the  facts,  and  finds  that  of  that 
number  confined  at  that  place,  during  the  spring  of  1865, 
viz :  5,025,  there'were  during  the  three  months  884  deaths 
— a  slight  discrepancy  of  878  !  In  March,  the  number  of 
deaths  was  495  ;  in  April,  265  ;  in  May,  124 ;  making  ;i 
total  of  884.  And  if  February  was  included,  which  gives 
426  more,  the  total  for  four  months  will  be  1,311  !  Much 
has  been  said  concerning  the  mortality  of  Union  soldiers 
in  Southern  prisons,  but  such  a  record  should  awaken 
inquiry  at  home." — Buffalo  "  Courier." 


288  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

Tell  them  that  at  camp  Douglas,  on  lake  Michigan,  in 
the  depth  of  winter,  six  (6)  blankets  were  issued  to  one 
hundred  and  sixty  (160)  men,  and  that  dogs  and  rats  were 
daily  eaten.  Tell  them,  that  at  Point  Lookout,  that  your 
fathers  were  guarded  l>y  Negroes,  who  shot  at  them  as 
they  would  at  game.  That  there  was  one  stove  to  ten 
thousand  (10,000)  men  ;  and  many  froze  to  death,  from 
lying  on  the  bare  ground,  without  a  blanket.  Tell  them, 
that  at  camp  Douglas  prisoners  were  tied  up  by  the 
thumbs,  (in  one  instance,  that  of  the  gallant  John  D. 
Levett,  afterwards  Captain  Levett,)  for  three  hours,  for 
slight  infractions  of  the  oppressive  rules  of  the  prison. 

Tell  them,  that  in  all  the  prison  pens  of  the  North,  many 
of  the  custodians  of  those  sinks  of  oppression,  allowed  atro 
cities  to  be  committed,  at  the  recital  of  which  the  heart 
of  civilization  revolts.  I  append  compilations,  from  official 
and  other  reliable  data,  which,  I  hope,  every  true  child 
of  the  South — who  love  their  ancestry  and  their  heroic 
deeds — will  read  carefully,  and  when  the  lying  historian, 
of  a  fanatical  party,  speaks  of  the  so-called  horrors  of 
Andersonville,  let  the  youth  of  the  South  know,  that  it  is 
written,  to  hide  the  cruelties,  practiced  by  our  enemies 
upon  Confederate  prisoners. 

In  every  large  prison  at  the  North,  cruelty  was 
systematically  practiced  for  the  purpose  of  forcing  prison 
ers  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Federal 
government,  or,  in  case  of  their  refusal,  of  enfeebling 
their  health  to  such  an  extent  as  to  rendei  them  unfit  for 
military  service,  on  their  return  to  the  South.  The 
treatment  of  some  of  the  prisoners  was  so  severe,  that 
when  they  were  taken  from  the  cells,  the  blood  gushed 
from  their  ears. 

Sometimes  prisoners,  thinly  clad,  were  removed 
long  distances  from  one  prison  to  another,  in  the  coldest 
weather.  No  provisions  were  taken  for  them,  and  be 
nevolent  people  along  the  route  were  forbidden  to  give 
them  either  food  or  clothing.  On  such  occasions  large 
numbers  of  the  wretched  sufferers  died  in  the  cars  ;  but 
they  gained  a  happy  release.  No  one  can  read  the 
accounts  of  the  treatment  of  Southern  prisoners,  in  most 


I 

B- 

CO- 

3 


SCKAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  289 

of  the  large  priscms  at  the  North,    without  feeling  that 
those  who  died  soonest  were  the  most  favored. 

At  camp  Douglas,  on  lake  Michigan,  during  an 
intensely  cold  spell  in  the  winter  of  1862,  when  icicles 
hung  from  the  roof  of  the  prison,  within  two  inches  ot 
the  stove  pipe,  and  the  breath  froze  on  the  beards  of  the 
prisoners,  six  blankets  were  isssued  to  about  160  men — 
the  only  blankets  issued  during  the  winter.  Few  of 
those  detailed  to  bring  in  fuel  returned  without  being 
frost-bitten  ;  many  were  brought  back  insensible,  or  in  a 
helpless  condition ;  some  had  their  arms  frozen  stiff 
around  the  wood  and  could  not  open  them.  The  food 
was  very  scanty,  and  rats  and  dogs  wrere  eaten  whenever 
they  could  be  procured.  "Men,"  says  one  prisoner,  "talk 
of  the  horrors  of  Andersonville.  If  those  who  now  sleep 
on  the  shores  of  Lake  Michigan  could  tell  the  story  of 
their  sufferings,  Andersonville  would  appear  as  a  paradise 
in  comparison." 

In  one  instance  when  a  negro  guard  had  shot  into  a 
crowd  of  over  two  hundred  Southern  prisoners,  at  Point 
Lookout,  without  provocation,  killing  and  wounding  five 
men,  the  officer  of  the  day,  in  presence  of  the  prisoners, 
told  him  when  his  ammunition  gave  out  to  let  him  know, 
and  he  would  furnish  more.  Men  were  frozen  to  death 
by  being  forced  to  sleep  on  the  ground  with  only  one 
blanket  and  no  fire.  The  rations  were  just  enough  to 
keep  soul  and  body  together.  "The  fiendish  brutality 
practiced  by  the  Fifth  Massachusetts  Cavalry,  on  the 
defenseless  unfortunates  at  this  post,  can  never  be  forgot 
ten  or  forgiven."  "I  was  a  prisoner  for  eight  long 
months,7'  says  one  man,  u  and  the  sufferings  I  witnessed 
during  that  time,  I  never  before  had  any  conception  of. 
I  am  told  by  those  who  experienced  the  tortures  of  Fort 
Delaware,  that  they  were  still  worse." 

Tying  up  by  the  thumbs  was  a  punishment  practiced 
daily  at  Fort  Delaware,  for  the  slightest  infraction  of 
prison  rules  ;  men  were  frequently  tied  up  in  this  way 
for  two  and  three  hours  at  a  time.  At  eight  o'clock  every 
morning,  one  small  piece  of  mixed  corn  and  wheat  bread, 
and  about  an  ounce  of  salt,  were  issued  to  each  prisoner. 


290  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  JTABLE. 

The  same  quantity  was  issued  at  two  o'clock,  with  the 
addition  of  a  pint  of  filthy  soup.  This  was  all  they  had. 
A  poor  boy  from  Charlottes ville,  Virginia,  was  shot  dead 
for  throwing  some  water  from  a  cup  out  of  a  window  of 
the  barracks.  One  stove  wras  all  that  was  allowed  about 
ten  thousand  men  in  the  coldest  winter  months.  A  lieu 
tenant,  for  a  very  slight  offense,  was  ordered  by  General 
Schoepf,  to  have  his  hands  manacled  behind  his  back, 
and  to  be  hung  up  by  his  elbows.  He  was  kept  hanging, 
until  he  fainted,  from  excruciating  agony.  A  surgeon 
was  detailed,  to  watch  the  operation,  and  to  replace  the 
shoulders  of  the  unfortunate  sufferer,  when  they  became 
dislocated.  This  was  repeated  several  times,  after  which 
the  prisoner  was  placed  in  solitary  confinement  for  ten 
days.  The  corpses  of  prisoners  were  sold,  and  bodies 
taken  from  the  graves,  for  the  use  of  medical  colleges  and 
surgeons. 

* 4  In  reply  to  a  resolution  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives,  says  the  Washington  "Union,"  calling  upon  the 
Secretary  of  War,  for  the  number  of  prisoners  of  either 
side  held,  and  that  died  during  the  war,  he  makes  the 
following  report:  Number  of  Union  prisoners  South, 
261,000;  number  of  Confederate  prisoners  North, 
200,000;  number  of  Union  prisoners  died,  22,576; 
number  of  Confederate  prisoners  died,  26, 535.  Out  of 
261,000  Union  Prisoners,  22,500  died.  The  Union 
prisoners  exceeded  the  Confederate  prisoners  61,000, 
yet  the  deaths  of  the  Union  prisoners  fell  below  those  of 
the  Confederate  prisoners  six  thousand.  Two  Yankee 
prisoners  died  out  of  every  twenty-three,  in  Southern 
pens.  Two  Confederate  prisoners  died  out  of  every 
fifteen,  in  Northern  pens. 

It  is  due  to  the  truth  of  history  and  to  the  cause  of  the 
Southern  Confederacy,  that  these  figures  published  by 
the  authority  of  the  United  States  Secretary  of  War,  Mr. 
Stanton,  should  be  widely  circulated.  From  them  wo 
learn  that,  although  the  Southern  Confederacy  had  more 
Northern  prisoners  in  its  hands,  than  the  Northern  Gov 
ernment  had  of  Southern  prisoners,  the  mortality  in  the 
Northern  prisons  was  more  than  twice  as  great  as  in  the 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        291 

Southern.  It  is  thus  that  facts  and  figures  disprove  the 
the  violent  calumnies  which  were  set  afloat  in  a  time  of 
passion,  regarding  the  treatment  of  Union  prisoners  by 
the  Southern  government  and  its  agents.  The  reader 
will  not  readily  forget  the  shocking  charges  which  were 
made  during  the  war,  not  only  against  such  men  as  Cap 
tain  Wirz,  but  against  high-minded,  honorable,  Christian 
men,  like  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis,  himself.  Had  these 
stories  been  true,  they  would  necessarily  show  a  largely 
disproportionately  excess  of  mortality  in  Southern  prison?. 
The  official  records — not  of  the  Southern  States,  be  it- 
remembered,  but  of  the  Northern  States,  show  that  the 
death  rate  was  much  greater  in  the  North,  than  in  the 
South. 

We  do  not  pretend  to  say  that  there  were  not  hard 
ships,  nay,  grevious  sufferings  experienced  in  both  the 
Northern  and  Southern  pens.  To  say  this,  would  be  to 
say  what  was  not  the  case.  But  it  is  evident  that  if  the 
results  are  to  be  taken,  as  indicating  the  character  of  the 
treatment  received,  and  we  think  they  may  be  very  fairly 
so  taken,  the  Northern  prisoners  in  the  hands  of  the  Con 
federacy  were  treated  more  leniently,  than  were  the 
Southerners  who  had  the  misfortune  to  fall  into  the 
hands  of  their  Northern  oppressors.  Assuming  that  the 
mode  of  treatment  was  the  same  in  the  North  as  in  the 
South,  the  death  rate  in  the  Southern  prisons  ought  to 
have  been  greater  than  in  the  Northern.  For  it  is  an  in 
disputable  fact  that  a  Northern  man  will  naturally  suffer 
more  in  a  Southern  climate,  than  a  Southern  man  will  in  a 
Northern  climate.  Besides,  during  the  war,  the  Northern 
Government  experienced  no  want  of  wholesome  pro 
visions  wherewith  to  feed  the  prisoners  who  fell  into  their 
hands,  if  they  had  intended  to  treat  them  well,  whilst  the 
Confederacy  was  not  so  highly  favored.  Taking  all  these 
circumstances  together,  they  go  to  show,  that  without  the 
exercise  of  any  extraneous  influence,  the  mortality  in  the 
South,  ought  to  have  been  much  greater  than  in  the 
North.  That  the  opposite  was  the  case — and  to  a  very 
great  extent  too — must  be  taken  as  uttterly  disproving 
the  charges  of  wanton  cruelty  against  the  South,  which. 


292  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  JTABLE. 

were  so  common  at  the  time,  and  which,  grossly  exagger 
ated  by  artistic  imagination,  helped  to  disfigure  the  pic 
torial  columns  of  "Harper's  Weekly." 

We  would  have  allowed  this  subject  to  slumber  on,  as 
it  has  been  doing  lately,  were  it  not  for  the  publication  of 
the  official  figures,  which  come  so  opportunely,  to  relieve 
every  resident  of  the  Southern  States,  whether  man  or 
woman,  whether  abroad  or  at  home,  of  the  opprobrium 
which  interested  parties  have  sought  to  cast  upon  them, 
by  the  circulation  of  the  most  glaring  falsehoods ;  and  be 
cause  even  now,  Radical  sheets  in  the  Northern  States, 
do  not  hesitate  to  fling  the  accusation  in  the  face  of  Mr. 
Jefferson  Davis,  with  a  view  of  influencing  public  opinion 
against  him,  whilst  he  is  retained  in  custody,  and,  of 
course,  debarred  from  replying  to  the  falsehoods.  Im 
partial  history  will  record  that  the  Southern  people 
fought  their  cause  with  a  nobleness  of  conduct",  which  did 
them  honor.  They  fell,  but  falling  could  say  in  the 
memorable  words  of  another  people,  who,  like  themselves, 
had  striven,  but  in  vain,  for  independence,  "All  is  lost 
save  honor."  There  was  no  fouler  charge  made  against 
the  Southern  people,  than  that  of  having  cruelly  treated 
Northern  prisoners.  By  the  mouths  of  their  enemies 
have  they  been  fully  vindicated. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  293 


TREATMENT  OF  JEFFERSON  DAVIS. 


THE  following  account  of  the  treatment  of  the  Presi 
dent  of  the  late  Confederate  States,  Jefferson  Davis,  by  a 
so-called  civilized  government,  is  without  a  parallel  in  the 
history  of  civilization.  Louis  Napoleon,  (after  his  two 
failures  at  invasion  of  his  own  country,  from  a  foreign 
shore  at  Baulogne  and  Strasburg,)  while  confined  at  Ham, 
was  treated  in  a  manner,  becoming  his  distinguished  social 
position.  Lafayette,  during  his  five  years'  confinement 
at  Olmutz,  received  deferential  consideration  at  the  hands 
of  his  jailors.  Since  time  immemorial,  State  prisoners 
have  received  from  all  governments,  ho  matter  how  bar 
barous,  gentle  treatment,  until  trial — but  in  the  United 
States  of  America,  a  party  of  fanatics  in  power,  have  been 
led  to  the  commission  of  unconstitutional  and  inhuman 
acts,  that  causes  any  conservator  of  peace  and  morals,  to 
blush  for  his  countrymen  ;  their  criminal  abuses  being  so 
palpable — as  in  the  case  of  Jefferson  Davis,  who  has  not 
been  brought  to  trial,  simply  from  the  fact,  that  his 
acquittal,  (a  settled  fact  before  an  impartial  jury,)  would 
result  in  the  establishment  of  the  principle  of  State  rights, 
and  show  to  the  world,  that  the  late  crusade  against  the 
South,  was  an  Abolition  raid,  into  which  many  honest 
men  were  led,  imagining  they  were  fighting  for  the  integ 
rity  and  oneness  of  the  Union. 

"MANACLED. 

"  Stop,  soldier,  stop !  this  cruel  act 
Will  ring  through  all  the  land, 
Shame  on  the  heart  that  planned  the  deed! 
Shame  on  the  coward  hand 


294        SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

That  drops  the  sword  of  justice  bright 

To  grasp  these  iron  rings  ! 
On  them,  not  me,  dishonor  foils, 

To  them  this  dark  shame  clings. 

"  Manacled?  O,  my  God  !  my  God ! 

Is  this  a  Christian  land  ? 
And  did  our  countries  ever  meet 

And  grasp  each  other's  hand  ? 
O,  Mexico !  on  thy  red  fields 

I  battled  'midst  the  fray ;  i 
My  riflemen,  with  steady  aim, 

"Won  Buena  Vista's  day. 

"  Manacled !  far  down  the  South 

Let  this  one  word  speed  fast, 
My  country,  thou  hast  borne  great  wrongs, 

But  this,  the  last,  the  last, 
Will  send  a  thrill  through  thy  high  heart, 

Despair  will  spurn  control, 
And  these  hard  irons  pressing  here 

Will  enter  thy  proud  soul. 

"Manacled!  O,  word  of  shame ! 

Ring  it  through  all  the  world ! 
My  countrymen,  on  you,  on  you, 

This  heavy  wrong  is  hurled. 
We  flung  our  banners  to  the  air ; 

We  fought  as  brave  men  fight ; 
Our  battle-cry  rang  through  the  laud  ; 

Home  !  liberty  !  and  right  ! 

"Manacled !  For  this  I  am  here, 

Clanking  the  prisoner's  chain, 
We  fought — and  nobly  did  we  light — 

We  fought,  but  fought  in  vain  ; 
Down  in  that  billowy  sea  of  blood 

Went  all  our  jewels  rare, 
And  Hope  rushed  wailing  from  the  scene 

And  took  herself  to  prayer  ! 

"Manacled!  manacled!  Words  of  woe, 

But  words  of  greater  shame  ; 
I've  that  within  me  which  these  wrongs, 

Can  never,  never  tame  ; 
And  standing  proud  in  conscious  worth, 

I  represent  my  land, 
And  that  Lost  Cause  for  which  she  bled, 

Lofty,  heroic,  grand !" 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  295 

HOW  MR.  DAVIS  WAS  IMPRISONED  AT  FOR 
TRESS  MONROE. 


The  Ironing  Business — The  True  Relation  of  Facts, 


STATEMENT  OF  EVENTS  CONNECTED  WITH  THE  FETTERING  OF  JEF 
FERSON  DAVIS,  WHEN  A  PRISONER  AT  FORTRESS  MONROE,  AS 
DERIVED  FROM,  AND  VERIFIED  BY  THE  PRISONER  AND  AN  OFFI 
CER  OF  THE  DAY. 


INCORPvECTNESS  OF  CRAVEN'S  BOOK. 


WHEN  Jefferson  Davis  was  brought  a  captive  to  For 
tress  Monroe,  lie  was  confined  in  a  gun-room  of  a  case 
mate,  the  embrasure  of  which  was  closed  with,  a  heavy 
iron  grating,  and  the  doors  which  communicated  with  the 
gunner's  room  were  closed  with  heavy  double  shutters, 
fastened  with  cross  bars  and  padlocks.  The  side  openings 
had  been  closed  up  with  fresh  masonry,  the  plastering  of 
which  was  soft  to  the  touch,  the  top  being  an  arch  to 
support  the  earth  of  the  parapet.  Two  sentinels,  with 
muskets  loaded  and  bayonets  fixed,  paced  to  and  fro 
across  this  small  prison.  Two  other  sentinels  and  a  com- 
misssioned  officer  occupied  the  gunner's  room,  the  doors 
and  windows  of  which  were  strongly  secured.  The  officer 
of  the  day  had  the  key  of  the  outer  door,  and  sentinels 
were  posted  on  the  outer  pavement  in  front  of  it.  There 
were  also  sentinels  on  the  parapet  overhead.  The  em 
brasure  looked  out  on  the  west  ditch,  say  sixty  feet  wide, 
the  water  in  which  was  probably  from  seven  to  ten  feet 
deep,  the  scarp  and  counterscarp  revetted  with  dress ed 
masonry.  Beyond  the  ditch,  on  the  glacis,  was  a  double 
chain  of  sentinels,  and  in  the  casemate  roomi,  on  each 
side  of  the  prison,  were  quartered  that  part  of  the  guard 
which  was  not  on  post. 

Borne  down  by  privation,  over  exertion  and  exposure, 
he  was  in  no  condition,  when  thrown  into  prison,  to  resist 


206  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON»TABLE. 

exciting  causes  of  disease.  The  damp  walls,  the  food  too 
coarse  and  bad  to  be  eaten,  the  deprivation  of  sleep, 
caused  by  the  tramping  of  sentries  around  the  iron  cot,  the 
light  of  the  lamp,  which  shone  full  upon  it,  the  loud  cal 
ling  of  the  roll,  when  another  relief  was  called  out,  the 
noise  of  unlocking  the  doors,  the  tramp  of  the  sentinels, 
who  came  to  relieve  those  on  post,  produced  fever,  and 
rapidly  wasted  his  strength.  Without  mechanical  aid, 
though  his  efforts  were  not  interrupted,  no  one  could 
have  removed  the  grating  from  the  embrasure.  If  that 
had  been  done,  and  any  one  could  have  swam  across  the 
ditch,  and  climbed  up  the  revetment  on  the  opposite  side, 
which  was  doubtful,  he  then  would  have  encountered  the 
sentinels  on  the  glacis.  The  circumstances,  together  with 
many  manifestations,  indicating  feeling  towards  him,  led 
him  to  the  conclusion,  that  it  was  not  the  belief  that  these 
things  were  necessary  to  prevent  his  escape,  but  a  pur 
pose  to  offer  an  indignity,  to  inflict  physical  pain,  and 
perhaps  to  deprive  him  of  life. 

On  the  23d  of  May,  1865,  the  officer  of  the  day,  Cap 
tain  J.  Titlow,  of  the  Third  Pennsylvania  artillery,  came 
into  his  prison  with  two  blacksmiths,  bearing  a  pair  of 
heavy  leg  irons  coupled  together  by  a  ponderous  chain. 
Captain  Titlow,  in  a  manner  fully  sustaining'  his  words, 
informed  him  that  with  great  personal  reluctance,  he  came 
to  execute  an  order  to  put  irons  upon  him.  Mr.  Davis 
asked  whether  General  Miles  had  given  that  order,  and 
on  being  answered  in  the  affirmative,  said  he  wished  to 
see  General  Miles.  Captain  Titlow  replied  that  he  had 
just  left  General  Miles,  who  was  leaving  the  fort.  Mr. 
Davis  then  asked  that  the  execution  of  the  order  should 
be  postponed  until  General  Miles  returned.  Captain 
Titlow  said  his  orders  would  not  permit  that,  and  that  to 
an  old  soldier  it  was  needless  to  say  that  an  officer  was 
bound  to  execute  an  order  as  it  was  given  to  him.  Mr. 
Davis  told*  him  that  it  was  too  obvious,  that  there  could 
be  no  necessity  for  the  use  of  such  means  to  render  his 
imprisonment  secure ;  and  on  Captain  Titlow's  repeating 
that  his  duty  was  to  execute  his  orders,  Mr.  Davis  said  it 
was  not  such  an  order  as  a  soldier  could  give,  or  should 


SCEAPS  FKOM  THE  PEISON  TABLE.        297 

receive,  and  he  would  not  submit  to  it ;  that  it  was  evi 
dently  the  intention  to  torture  him  to  death ;  that  he 
would  never  tame.Y  be  subjected  to  indignities  by  which 
it  was  sought  in  his  person  to  degrade  the  cause  of  which 
he  was  a  representative.  The  officer  of  the  day  with  evi 
dent  kind  feeling  endeavored  to  dissuade  him  from  resis 
tance.  The  officer  of  the  guard  came  in  from  the  front 
room  with  the  officer  of  the  day,  to  induce  him  to  yield. 
It  was  needless  to  show  what  was  very  apparent,  that  re 
sistance  could  not  be  successful,  and  Mr.  Davis'  answer 
was  that  he  was  "  a  soldier  and  a  gentleman,  that  he  knew 
how  to  die,"  and  pointing  to  the  sentinel  who  stood  ready, 
said,  "  let  your  men  shoot  me  at  once."  He  faced  round 
with  his  back  to  the  wall,  and  stood  silently  waiting.  His 
quiet  manner  led  the  officer  to  suppose  that  no  resistance 
would  be  made,  and  therefore  the  blacksmiths  were  di 
rected  to  do  their  work.  As  one  of  them  stooped  down 
to  put  on  the  fetters,  Mr.  Davis  slung  him  off  so  violently 
as  to  throw  him  on  the  floor ;  he  recovered  and  raised 
his  hammer  to  strike,  but  the  officer  of  the  day  stopped 
him ;  simultaneously  one  of  the  sentinels  cocked  and 
lowered  his  musket,  advancing  on  the  prisoner,  who  had 
turned  to  encounter  his  assailant,  and  thus  did  not  see  the 
purpose  of  the  blacksmith.  Captain  Titlow  saw  the  new 
danger,  and  promptly  interposed,  telling  the  sentinels  that 
they  were  not  to  Are.  Ordered  the  officer  of  the  guard  to 
bring  in  four  of  the  strongest  men  of  the  guard  without 
firearms,  for  the  purpose  of  overcoming  by  muscular 
strength  the  resistance  which  was  threatened. 

Mr.  Davis  had  nothing  with  \vhich  to  defend  himself, 
even  his  pen-knife  having  been  previously  taken  from 
him.  The  contest  was  brief,  and  ended  in  his  being 
thrown  down,  four  men  being  on  his  body  and  head. 
He  could  not  see  the  blacksmiths  when  they  approached 
to  put  on  the  irons,  but  feeling  one  of  them,  he  kicked 
him  off  from  him  against  the  wall.  The  smith  recover 
ed,  and  with  the  aid  which  the  other  men  could  give 
him,  succeeded  in  the  second  attempt  to  rivit  one  fetter, 
and  secure  the  padlock  which  held  the  other.  Mr. 
Davis  scornfully  asked  his  assailants  if  thev  "called" 
20 


298  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

themselves  "soldiers,"  and  said  "the  shame  is  jours, 
not  mine."  The  object  being  effected,  the  officer  of  the 
day  withdrew  the  men  he  had  brought  in.  The  prisoner 
lay  down  on  the  cot,  covered  his  ironed  limbs  with  the 
blanket,  and  felt  only  more  intense  contempt  for  the 
brutality  with  which  he  was  treated  than  when  a  few 
minutes  before  he  had  announced  his  belief  that  he  was 
to  be  tortured  to  death,  and  defied  the  power  which  at 
tempted  to  degrade  him.  Of  the  dramatic  account  pub 
lished  in  Dr.  Craven's  book,  he  said  it  could  not  have 
been  written  by  one  who  either  knew  the  facts,  or  had 
such  personal  knowledge  of  him  as  to  form  a  just  idea  of 
what  his  conduct  would  be  under  such  circumstances. 
The  fact  (he  added)  was  that  very  little  was  said  either 
by  Captain  Titlow  or  by  himself,  and  that  whatever  was 
said,  was  uttered  in  a  very  quiet  arid  practical  manner. 
For  himself  he  would  say,  he  was  too  resolved,  and  too 
proudly  conscious  of  his  relation  to  a  sacred,  though 
unsuccessful  cause,  for  such  acclamations  and  manifesta 
tions  as  were  imputed  to  him  by  Dr.  Craven's  informant, 
and  given  to  the  public  in  his  books. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE         299 


THE  MURDERED  VIRZ. 


LETTER  OF  LOUIS  SCHADE,  ESQ. 


THE  youth  of  the  South  will  consider  the  facts  so  truth 
fully  presented  in  the  following  letter  of  Loins  Schade, 
esq.,  that  eminent  counsellor,  which  proves  that  our  late 
beloved  chief  was  innocent  of  any  participation  in  the  so- 
called  atrocities  of  Andersonville,  and  that  the  murdered 
Wirz  wTas  more  sinned  against  than  sinning.  The  author 
knows  that  on  one  occasion,  that  when  passing  the  depot 
while  the  sick  Federal  prisoner  was  being  removed  from  the 
cars,  that  the  persecuted  and  murdered  Wirz,  did  assist 
in  lifting  a  sick  man  in  his  own  arms,  and  in  this  connec 
tion  permit  the  writer  to  say,  that  no  people  on  the  earth 
have  ever  treated  prisoners  as  cruelly  as  the  Abolition 
fanatics  of  the  North,  and  no  prisoners  have  been  treated 
with  more  humanity  (so  far  as  compatible,  with  the  capa 
city  of  the  government)  than  the  Federal  prisoners  in  Con 
federate  prisons : 

«  Intending  to  leave  the  United  States  for  some  time,  I 
feel  it  my  duty,  before  I  start,  to  fulfil  in  part  a  promise 
which,  a  few  hours  before  his  death,  I  gave  to  my  unfor 
tunate  client,  Captain  Wirz,  who  was  executed  at  Wash 
ington,  on  the  10th  day  of  November,  1865.  Protesting 
up  to  the  last  moment  his  innocence  of  those  monstrous 
crimes  with  which  he  was  charged,  he  received  my  word, 
that,  having  failed  to  save  him  from  a  felon's  doom,  I 
would,  as  long  as  I  lived,  do  everything  in  my  power  to 


300  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

clear  his  memory.  I  did  that  the  more  readily,  as  I  was 
then  perfectly  convinced  that  he  suffered  wrongfully. 
Since  that  time,  his  unfortunate  children,  both  here  and 
in  Europe,  have  constantly  implored  me  to  wipe  out  the 
terrible  stains  which  now  cover  the  name  of  their  father. 
Though  the  times  do  not  seem  propitious  for  obtaining 
full  justice,  yet,  considering  that  man  is  mortal,  I  will, 
before  entering  upon  a  perilous  voyage,  perform  my  duty 
to  those  innocent  orphans,  and  also  to  myself. 

I  will  now  give  a  brief  statement  of  the  causes  which 
led  to  the  arrest  and  execution  of  Captain  Wirz.  In  April, 
1865,  President  Johnson  issued  a  proclamation  stating  that 
from  evidence  in  the  possession  of  the  "Bureau  of  Mili 
tary  Justice,"  it  appeared  that  Jefferson  Davis  was  im 
plicated  in  the  assassination  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  for 
that  reason  the  President  offered  a  reward  of  100,000  on 
the  capture  of  the  then  fugitive  ex-President  of  the  South 
ern  Confederacy.  That  testimony  has  since  been  found 
to  be  entirely  false  and  a  mere  fabrication,  and  the  sub 
orner,  Conover,  is  now  under  sentence  in  the  jail  of  this 
city,  the  two  perjurers,  whom  he  suborned,  having  turned 
State  evidence  against  him,  whilst  the  individual,  by  whom 
Conover  was  suborned,  has  not  yet  been  brought  to  jus 
tice. 

Certain  high  and  influential  enemies  of  Jefferson  Davis, 
either  then  already  aware  of  the  character  of  the  testimo 
ny  of  those  witnesses,  or  not  thinking  their  testimony  quite 
sufficient  to  hang  Jefferson  Davis,  expected  to  find  the 
wanting  material  in  the  terrible  mortality  of  the  Union 
prisoners  at  Andersonville.  Orders  were  issued  accord 
ingly  to  arrest  a  subaltern  officer,  Captain  Wirz,  a  poor, 
friendless  and  wounded  prisoner  of  war,  (he  being  included 
in  the  surrender  of  General  Johnston,)  and  besides  a 
foreigner  by  birth.  On  the  7th  of  May,  he  were  placed 
in  the  old  Capital  Prison  at  Washington,  and  from  that 
time  the  greater  part  of  the  Northern  press  was  busily 
engaged  in  forming  the  unfortunate  man  in  the  eyes  of 
the  Northern  people  into  such  a  monster  that  it  became 
almost  impossible  for  him  to  obtain  counsel.  Even  his 
countryman,  the  Swiss  Consul  General,  publicly  refused  to 


SCRAS  FROPM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  301 

accept  money  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  trial.  He  was 
doomed  before  he  was  heard,  and  even  the  permission  to 
be  heard  according  to  law  was  denied  him.  To  increase 
the  excitement  and  give  eclat  to  the  proceeding,  and  to 
inflame  still  more  the  public  mind,  the  trial  took  place 
under  the  very  dome  of  the  capitol  of  the  nation.  A 
military  commission,  presided  over  by  one  of  the  most 
arbitrary  and  despotic  generals  in  the  country,  was  form 
ed,  and  the  paroled  prisoner  of  war,  his  wounds  still  open, 
and  so  feeble  that  he  had  to  recline  during  the  trial  on  a 
sofa,  carried  before  the  same.  How  that  trial  was  con 
ducted,  the  whole  world  knows.  The  enemies  of  gener 
osity  and  humanity  believed  it  then  a  sure  thing  to  get 
at  Jefferson  Davis. 

Therefore,  the  first  charge  was  that  of  conspiracy  be 
tween  Wirz,  Jefferson  Davis,  Seddon,  Howell  Cobb,  K. 
B.  Winder,  and  a  number  of  others,  to  kill  the  Union 
prisoners.  The  trial  lasted  for  three  months,  but  un 
fortunately  for  the  blood-thirsty  instigators,  not  a  particle 
of  evidence  was  produced,  showing  the  existence  of  such 
a  conspiracy ;  yet,  Captain  Wirz  was  found  guilty  of  that 
charge!  Having  thus  failed,  another  effort  was  made. 
On  the  night  before  the  execution  of  the  prisoner  a 
telegram  was  sent  to  the  Northern  press  from  this  city, 
stating  that  Wirz  had  made  important  disclosures  to 
General  L.  C.  Baker,  the  well-known  detective,  impli 
cating  Jefferson  Davis,  and  that  the  confession  would 
probably  be  given  to  the  public.  On  the  same  evening 
some  parties  came  to  the  confessor  of  Wirz,  Rev.  Father 
Boyle,  and  also  to  me,  one  of  them  informing  me  that  a 
high  Cabinet  officer  wished  to  assure  Wirz,  that  if  he 
would  implicate  Jefferson  Davis  with  the  atrocities  com 
mitted  at  Andersonville,  his  sentence  would  be  commuted. 
He,  the  messenger,  or  who  ever  he  was,  requested  me  to 
inform  Wirz  of  this.  In  presence  of  Father  Boyle  I 
told  Wirz  next  morning  what  had  happened.  The 
Captain  simply  and  quietly  replied:  "Mr.  Schade,  you 
know  that  I  have  always  told  you  that  I  do  not  know 
anything  about  Jefferson  Davis.  He  had  no  connection 
with  me  as  to  what  was  done  at  Andersonville.  If  I 


i 

302  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON.TABLE. 

knew  anytlu'ng  about  liim  I  would  not  become  a  traitor 
against  him  or  anybody  else,  even  to  save  my  life."  He 
likewise  denied  that  lie  had  made  any  statement  what 
ever  to  General  Baker.  Thus  ended  the  attempt  to 
suborn  Captain  Wirz  against  Jefferson  Davis.  That 
alone  shows  what  a  man  he  was.  How  many  of  his 
defamers  would  have  done  the  same  ?  With  his  wounded 
arm  in  a  sling,  the  poor  paroled  prisoner  mounted,  two 
hours  later,  the  scaffold.  His  last  words  were  that  he 
died  innocent — and  so  he  did.  The  10th  day  of  Novem 
ber,  1865,  will  indeed  be  a  black  stain  upon  the  pages  of 
American  history. 

To  weaken  the  effect  of  his  declaration  of  innocence, 
and  of  the  noble  manner  in  which  Wirz  died,  a  telegram 
was  manufactured  here  and  sent  North,  stating  that  on 
the  27th  of  October,  Mrs.  Wirz,  (who  actually  was  900 
miles  on  that  day  away  from  Washington,)  had  been 
prevented  by  that  Stantonian  deus  ex  machina  General 
L.  C.  Baker,  from  poisoning  her  husband!  Thus,  on 
the  same  day  when  the  unfortunate  family  lost  their 
husband  and  father,  a  cowardly  and  atrocious  attempt 
was  made  to  blacken  their  character  also.  On  the  next 
day  I  branded  the  whole  as  an  infamous  lie,  ancl  since 
then  I  never  have  heard  of  it  again,  though  it  emanated 
from  a  Brigadier-General  of  the  United  States  army. 

All  those  who  were  charged  with  having  conspired 
with  Captain  Wirz  have  since  been  released,  except 
Jefferson  Davis,  the  prisoner  of  the  American  Castle  of 
Chillon,  Captain  Winder,  was  let  off  without  trial,  and  if 
any  of  the  others  have  been  tried,  which  I  do  not  know, 
certainly  none  of  them  have  been  hung.  As  Captain 
Wirz  could  not  conspire  alone,  nobody  will  now,  in  view 
of  that  important  fact,  consider  him  guilty  of  that  charge. 
So  much,  then,  for  charge  No.  1. 

As  to  charge  No.  2,  to  wit:  Murder,  in  violation  of 
the  laws  and  customs  of  war,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  declare 
that  about  145  out  of  160  witnesses  on  both  sides,  de 
clared  during  the  trial,  that  Captain  Wirz  never  murdered 
or  killed  any  Union  prisoners,  with  his  own  hands  or 
otherwise.  All  those  witnesses  (about  twelve  to  fifteen,) 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  303 

who  testified  that  they  saw  Captain  Wirz  kill  a  prisoner, 
have  sworn  falsely,  abundant  proofs  of  that  assertion 
being  in  existence.  The  hands  of  Captain  Wirz  are  clear 
of  the  blood  of  prisoners  of  war.  He  would  certainly 
have  at  least  intimated  to  me  a  knowledge  of  the  alleged 
murders  with  which  he  was  charged.  In  most  all  cases 
no  names  of  the  alleged  murdered  men  could  be  given, 
and  where  it  was  done,  no  such  persons  could  be 
identified.  The  terrible  scene  in  court,  when  he  was 
confronted  with  one  of  the  witnesses,  and  the  latter  insist 
ing  that  Wirz  was  the  man  who  killed  a  certain  Union 
prisoner,  which  irritated  the  prisoner  so  much  that  he 
almost  fainted,  will  still  be  remembered.  That  man 
(Grey)  swore  falsely,  and  God  alone  knows  what  the  poor 
innocent  prisoner  must  have  suffered  at  that  moment. 
That  scene  was  depicted  and  illustrated  in  the  Northern 
newspapers  as  if  Wirz  had  broken  down  on  account  of 
his  guilt.  Seldom  has  mortal  suffered  more  than  that 
friendless  and  forsaken  man. 

Fearing  lest  this  communication  will  be  too  long,  I 
will  merely  speak  of  the  principal  and  most  intelligent  of 
these  false  witnesses,  who  testified  to  individual  murder 
on  the  part  of  Captain  Wirz.  Upon  his  testimony  the 
Judge*  Advocate  in  his  final  argument  laid  particular 
stress  on  account  of  his  intelligence.  This  witness  pre 
pared  also  pictures  of  the  alleged  cruelties  of  Wirz, 
which- were  handed  to  the  Commission,  and  are  now  on 
record,  copies  of  which  appeared  at  the  time  in  Northern 
illustrated  papers.  He  swore  that  his  name  was  Felix 
de  la  Baume,  and  represented  himself  as  a  Frenchman, 
and  grand-nephew  of  Marquis  Lafayette.  After  having 
so  well  testified  and  shown  so  much  zeal,  he  received  a 
recommendation  signed  by  the  members  of  the  Commis 
sion.  On  the  llth  day  of  October,  before  the  taking  of 
the  testimony  was  concluded,  he  was  appointed  to  a 
clerkship  in  the.  Department  of  the  Interior.  This  oc 
curred  whilst  one  of  the  witnesses  for  the  defence 
(Duncan)  was  arrested  in  open  court  and  placed  in  prison 
before  he  had  testified.  After  the  execution  of  Captain  Wirz 
some  of  the  Germans  of  Washington,  recognized  in  de 


304  SCEAPS  FEOM  THE  PEISON  TABLE. 

laBaume  a  deserter  from  the  Seventh  New  York  (Steuben) 
Kegiment,  whose  name  was  not  de  la  Baume,  but  Felix 
Oeser,  a  native  of  Saxony.  They  went  to  Secretary 
Harlan,  and  he  dismissed  the  impostor  and  the  important 
witness  in  the  Wirz  trial  on  the  21st  of  November,  eleven 
days  after  the  execution.  Nobody  who  is  acquainted 
with  the  Conover  testimony,  in  consequence  of  which  the 
President  of  the  United  States  was  falsely  induced  to 
place  a  reward  of  $100,000  upon  the  head  of  an  innocent 
man,  will  be  astonished  at  the  above  disclosures  of  the 
character  of.  testimony  before  military  commissions.  So 
much  for  charge  No.  II. 

If  from  twelve  to  fifteen  witnesses  could  be  found  who 
were  willing  to  testify  to  so  many  acts  of  murder  on  the 
part  of  Wirz,  there  must  certainly  have  been  no  lack  of 
such  who  were  willing  to  swear  to  minor  offences.  Such 
was  the  unnatural  state  of  the  public  mind  against  the 
prisoner  at  that  time,  that  such  men  regarded  themselves, 
and  were  regarded,  as  heroes,  after  having  testified  in  the 
manner  above  described  ;  whilst  on  the  other  hand,  the 
witnesses  for  the  defence  were  intimidated,  particularly 
after  one  of  them  had  been  arrested. 

But  who  is  responsible  for  the  many  lives  that  were 
lost  at  Andersonville,  and  in  the  Southern  prisons  ?  That 
question  has  not  fully  been  settled,  but  history  will  tell  on 
whose  heads  the  guilt  for  those  sacrificed  hecatombs  of  hu 
man  beings  is  to  be  placed.  It  was  certainly  not  the  fault  of 
poor  Captain  Wirz,  when,  in  consequence  of.  medicines 
having  been  declared  contraband  of  war  by  the  North, 
the  Union  prisoners  died  for  the  want  of  the  same.  How 
often  have  we  read  during  the  war  that  ladies,  going 
South,  had  been  arrested  and  placed  in  the  old  Capitol 
Prison  by  the  Union  authorities,  because  some  quinine,  or, 
other  medicines,  had  been  found  concealed  in  their  petti 
coats  !  Our  navy  prevented  the  ingress  of  medical  stores 
from  the  sea-side,  and  our  troops  repeatedly  destroyed 
drug  stores,  and  even  the  supplies  of  private  physicians 
in  the  South.  Thus,  the  scarcity  of  medicines  became 
general  all  over  the  South.  Surgeon  J.  C.  Pilot  writes, 
September  6th,  1864,  from  Andersonville,  [  this  letter  was 


SCEAPS  FROM  THE  PEISON  TABLE.  305 

• 

produced  by  the  Judge  Advocate  in  the  Wirz  trial] : 
"  We  have  little  more  than  the  indigenous  barks  and 
roots  with  which  to  treat  the  numerous  forms  of  disease 
to  which  our  attention  is  daily  called.  For  the  treatment 
of  wounds,  ulcers,  <fcc.,  we  have  literally  nothing,  except 
water.  Our  wards,  some  of  them,  are  wild  with  gangrene, 
and  we  are  compelled  to  fold  our  arms  and  look  quietly 
upon  its  ravages,  not  even  having  stimulants  to  support 
the  system  under  its  depressing  influence;  the  article  be 
ing  so  limited  in  supply  that  it  can  only  be  issued  for 
cases  under  the  knife." 

That  provisions  in  the  South  were  scarce,  will  astonish 
nobody,  when  it  is  remembered  how  the  war  was  carried 
on.  General  Sheridan  boasted,  in  his  official  report  that, 
in  the  Shenandoah  valley  alone,  he  burned  two  thousand 
barns  filled  with  wheat  and  corn,  and  all  the  mills  in  the 
whole  tract  of  country;  that  he  destroyed  all  factories  of 
cloth,  and  killed,  or  drove  off,  every  animal,  even  to  the 
poultry,  that  could  contribute  to  human  sustenance.  And 
those  desolations  were  repeated  in  different  parts  of  the 
South,  and  that  so  thoroughly,  that  last  month,  two 
years  after  the  end  of  the  war,  Congress  had  to  appropri 
ate  a  million  of  dollars,  to  save  the  people  of  those 
regions  from  actual  starvation.  The  destruction  of  rail 
roads,  and  other  means  of  transportation,  by  which  food 
should  be  supplied  by  abundant  districts  to  those  without 
it,  increased  the  difficulties  in  giving  sufficient  food  to  our 
prisoners. 

The  Confederate  authorities,  aware  of  their  inability  to 
maintain  their  prisoners,  informed  the  Northern  agents 
of  the  great  mortality,  and  urgently  requested  that  the 
prisoners  should  be  exchanged,  even  without  regard  to 
the  surplus  which  the  Confederates  had  on  the  exchange 
roll  from  former  exchanges,  that  is,  man  for  man,  but  our 
War  Department  did  not  consent  to  an  exchange.  They 
did  not  want  to  "  exchange  skeletons  for  healthy  men." 
Finally,  when  all  hopes  of  exchange  were  gone,  Colonel 
Quid,  the  Confederate  Commissioner,  offered,  early  in 
August,  1864,  to  deliver  up  all  the  Federal  sick  and' 
wounded,  without  requiring  an  equivalent  in  return,  and 


306         SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

pledged  that  the  number  would  amount  to  ten  or  fifteen 
thousand,  and,  if  it  did  not,  he  would  make  up  that  num 
ber  with  well  men.  Although  this  offer  was  made  in 
August,  the  transportation  was  not  sent  for  them  (to 
Savannah)  until  December,  although  he  urged  and  im 
plored,  (to  use  his  own  words,)  that  haste  should  be  made. 
During  that  very  period,  the  most  of  the  deaths  at 
Andersonville  occurred.  Congressman  Covode,  who  lost 
two  sons  in  Southern  prisons,  will  do  well  if  he  inquires 
who  these'"  skeletons"  were  which  the  Honorable  Sec 
retary  of  War  did  not  want  to  exchange  for  healthy  men! 
If  he  does,  he  will  hereafter  be  perhaps  less  bitter  against 
the  people  of  the  South. 

But  has  the  North  treated  her  Southern  prisoners  so 
well  that  she  should  lift  up  her  hands  and  cry  "  anathe 
ma"  over  the  South.^  Mr.  Stanton's  reports  to  Congress, 
July  19,  1866,  that  of  Southern  prisoners  there  died  in 
the  North  26,436,  and  of  Northern  prisoners  in  the  South 
22,57(>.  What  a  fearful  record!  Over  26,000  pris 
oners  dying  in  the  midst  of  plenty!  Mr.  Stanton  gives 
the  total  number  of  prisoners  in  the  North  at  220,000, 
and  in  the  South  at  126,940.  Suppose  this  to  be  cor 
rect,  though  this  statement  comes  certainly  from  no  im 
partial  source,  there  died  of  prisoners  in  the  South,  with 
out  medicines  and  provisions,  the  iifth  part,  and  in  the 
North,  with  medicines  and  provisions,  the  eighth  part. 
But  in  the  number  of  Southern  prisons  in  the  North,  are 
probably  included  the  paroled  prisoners  of  Lee's,.  John 
ston's  and  Smith's  armies,  who  never  entered  a  Northern 
prison.  If  that  be  so,  the  mortality  of  Southern  prison 
ers  in  the  North,  will  be  even  greater  than  that  of  the 
Federal  prisoners  in  the  South. 

We  used  justly  to  proclaim  in  former  times,  that  ours 
was  "the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave." 
But  when  one  half  of  the  country  is  shrouded  in  a  despot 
ism  which  now  only  finds  a  parallel  in  Russian  Poland, 
and  when  our  generals  and  soldiers  quietly  permit 'that 
their  former  adversaries  in  arms  shall  be  treated  worse  than 
the  Helots  of  old,  brave  soldiers  though  they  may  be,  who, 
when  the  forces  and  resources  of  both  sections  were  more 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.         307 

equal,  have  not  seldom  seen  the  backs  of  our  best 
generals,  not  to  speak  of  such  as  Butler  and  consorts,  then 
we  may  well  question  whether  the  "  star-spangled  banner 
still 'waves  over  the  land  of  the  free  or  the  home  of  the 
brave."  A  noble  and  brave  soldier  never  permits  his  an 
tagonist  to  be  calumniated  and  trampled  upon  -  after  an 
honorable  surrender.  Besides,  notwithstanding  the  deci 
sion'  of  the  highest  legal  tribunal  in  the  land  that  military 
commissions  are  unconstitutional,  the  earnest  and  able 
protestations  of  President  Johnson,  and  the  sad  results  of 
military  commissions,  yet  such  military  commissions  are 
again  established  by  recent  legislation  of  Congress  all  over 
he  suffering  and  starving  South. 

History  is  just,  and,  as  Mr.  Lincoln  used  to  say,  we 
cannot  escape  history.  Puritanical  hypocracy,  self-adula 
tion  and  self-glorification  will  not  save  those  enemies  of 
liberty  from  their  just  punishment. 

Not  even  a  Christian  burial  of  the  remains  of  Captain 
Wirz  was  allowed  by  Secretary  Stan  ton.  They  will  lie 
side  by  side  with  those  of  another  and  acknowledged 
.victim  of  military  commissions,  the  unfortunate  Mrs.  Sur- 
ratt,  in  the  yard  of  the  former  jail  in  this  city. 

If  anybody  should  desire  to  reply  to  this,  I  politely  beg- 
that  it  may  be  done  before  the  first  of  May  next,  as  then 
I  shall  leave  the  country  to  return  in  the  fall.  After  that 
day  letters  will  reach  me  in  care  of  the  American  Lega 
tion,  or  Mr.  Benedette  Bolzani,  Leipzig  street,  No.  38, 
Berlin,  Prussia. 

LOUIS  SCHADE, 
Attorney  at  Law. 

WASHINGTON,  April  4,  18*67. 


TREATMENT  OF  FEDERAL   PRISONERS  AND 
REBEL  WITNESSES. 

• 

The  following  letter  from  one  of  the  counsel  of  Captain 
Wirz  effectually  contradicts  the  false  statements  of  the 
"  Chronicle  "  with  regard  to  the  manner  of  the  dismissal 


308  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON^  TABLE. 

of  Colonel  Ould,  and  other  distinguished  Southern  men, 
who  were  summoned  as  witnesses  for  the  defense  upon 
that  trial,  but  were  not  allowed  by  the  prosecution  to 
testify : 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  September  5,  1868. 
To  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE  NATIONAL  INTELLIGENCER  : 

My  attention  has  been  called  to  the  following  extract 
from  an  article  contained  in  the  "  Chronicle,"  of  the  27th 
of  August  last,  to  wit : 

"  The  statements  in  Robert  Quid's  letter,  that  though 
announced  as  a  witness  for  the  defense  in  the  Wirz  case, 
he  was  dismissed  by  the  prosecution,  is  authoritatively 
pronounced  a  malicious  perversion  of  the  facts.  In  mili 
tary  trials  all  witnesses  are  both  summoned  and  dismissed 
by  the  Judge  Advocate  ;  and  had  Wirz's  counsel  designed 
that  Mr.  Ould  should  be  put  upon  the  stand,  it  would 
have  been  done,  though  he  would  not  have  been  allowed 
to  make  an  entirely  irrelevant  statement  in  defense  of  the* 
rebel  system  of  exchange." 

The  words  "authoritatively  pronounced"  induce  me 
to  believe  that  the  said  article  emanates  from  one  of  the 
participants  in  the  trial  of  the  unfortunate  Captain  Wirz. 
They  tremble  for  fear  that  retribution  will  soon  follow, 
and  are,  consequently,  trying  to  exculpate  themselves  by 
false  statements.  But  there  is  no  escaping  for  them  ! 

Last  spring  a  report  of  the  Wirz  trial  was  published 
by  order  of  Congress.  Though  somewhat  mutilated  and 
curtailed,  it  will  yet  serve  to  expose  the  above  falsehood 
of  the  "  Chronicle."  On  page  615  of  that  report  I  find 
the  following : 

"  The  Judge.  Advocate  (Colonel  Chipman) — There  is 
another  point  which  I  desire  to  submit  to  the  court. 
During  the  progress  of  this  trial,  I  have  sought  to  exer 
cise,  as  properly  as  I  knew  how,  the  discretion  placed  in 
my  hands  by  the  court,  upon  the  subject  of  subpenaing 
witnesses.  Some  witnesses,  wrho  may  properly  be  termed 
rebel  functionaries,  have  been  subpenaed  by  me  inadvert- 


SCEAPS  FROM  THE  PEISON  TABLE.        309 

ently.  I  have  signed  such  subpenas,  made  out  by  my 
clerk,  with  great  haste,  and  without  noticing  the  fact. 
Others  were  subpenaed  by  me  deliberately,  but  upon  fur- 
ftier  consideration,  I  deemed  it  my  duty  to  revoke  t/ie 
subpena.  This  remark  applies  to  a  certain  class  of  wit 
nesses,  which  the  court  will  understand ;  it  embraces  men, 
who  have  been  leaders  in  the  rebellion,  such  as  General 
Lee,  Mr.  Seddon,  Mr.  Mallory,  Surgeon-General  Moore, 
Commissioner  Ould,  and  others." 

It  will  be  observed,  that  the  Judge  Advocate,  having 
in  the  eyes  of  his  superiors  committed  the  great  blunder 
of  permitting  the  defense  to  have  such  witnesses  sub 
penaed,  whose  testimony  could  not  be  otherwise  but 
damaging  to  the  blood-thirsty  plans  of  Stanton,  Holt,  and 
their  tool,  Grant,  tries  to  excuse  himself,  by  stating  that 
he  had  corrected  his  error,  and  revoked  the  subpenas. 
On  page  617  he  again  says  : 

*  *     "  Certain  political   questions  involved  in  sub- 
pen  aing  such  persons  as  General  Lee  would  suggest  them 
selves  to  any  mind.     After  it  came  to  my  knowledge, 
that  those  witnesses  were  to  be  brought  here  for  purposes 
other  than  those  indicated  by  counsel,  I  acted  on  what  I 
thought  a  wise  discretion,  and  revoked  the  subpenas  to 
General  Lee  and  others.     In  every  case  where  I  revoked 
subpenas,  or  declined  to  issue  them,  the  evidence  impli 
cates  the  party  as  an  accessory  either  before  or  after  the 
fact,  a  principal  in  the  first  or  second  degree,  or  co-con 
spirator." 

In  page  618  he  expressed  the  following  kind  feeling 
towards  Colonel  Ould : 

*  *     "  Colonel  Ould  is  connected  with  those  atrocities, 
or  he  will  be  connected  with  them  before  the  conclusion 
of  the  trial,  and  the  court  cannot  allow  him  to  testify  for 
his  associate.     Colonel  Ould  was  in  position  where  the 
facts  regarding  the  prison  at  Andersonville  must  have 
come  to  his  knowledge." 

Colonel  Ould  had,  therefore,  a  narrow  escape  from  be 
coming  an  inmate  of  the  Old  Capitol,  and  sharing  the  fate 
of  poor  Wirz.  Had  the  real  Andersonville  murderers 
only  imagined  that  some  years  later  he  would  expose  to 


310  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

the  world  their  terrible  and  cruel  crimes  toward  their  own 
soldiers,  I  doubt  very  much  whether  Colonel  Ould  would 
ever  have  been  permitted  to  return  to  Richmond,  for 
"  dead  men  tell  no  tales." 

It  is  almost  superfluous,  after  citing  the  above  extracts 
from  the  official  record,  to  state  in  addition  that 'the  sub- 
peneas  of  General  Lee,  Colonel^Ould,  and  other  Southern 
witnesses,  were  stopped  or  revoked  without  the  consent 
and  even  the  knowledge  of  the  counsel  of  Captain  Wirz. 
As  the  whole  trial  was  nothing  but  a  most  wretched  farce, 
those  gentlemen,  even  if  they  had  succeeded  in  appearing 
as  witnesses  before  the  commission,  would  not  have  been 
permitted  to  say  anything  in  favor  of  the  prisoner  and  the 
cause  of  justice  and  humanity.  Perhaps  they  may  have 
shared  the  fate  of  one  of  the  witnesses  for  the  defence, 
(Duncan,)  who  was  arrested  in  open  court  before  he  had 
time  to  testify.  At  any  rate,  they  would  have  been  sub 
ject  to  the  over-bearing  insolence  of  the  President  of  the 
commission,  General  Lew  Wallace,  whilst  at  the  other 
end  of  the  table  the  Judge  Advocate,  by  sneering  ques 
tions  and  insulting  insinuations,  would  have  taxed  to  the 
utmost  the  forbearance  of  the  rebels,  as  he  politely  used 
to  denominate, the  Southern  witnesses.  In  fact,  after  it 
had  become  apparent  that  the  defense  would  not  be  allowed 
to  produce  any  evidence  in  favor  of  the  prisoner,  particu 
larly  after  the  above  mentioned  subpenas  had  been  coun 
termanded  or  revoked  without  our  knowledge,  no  further 
attempt  was  made  on  our  part  to  bring  these  gentlemen 
before  the  commission.  Captain  Wirz  told  me  several 
times  that  even  to  save  his  life  he  would  not  place  his 
cherished,  brave  and  noble  chieftain,  General  Lee,  in  the 
position  of  being  exposed  to  the  insults  of  such  a  man  as 
Lew  Wallace. 

The  recent  revelations  by  Colonel  Ould  must,  indeed, 
be  a  terrible  blow  to  the  participants  in  the  murder  of 
Captain  Wirz  ;  for  murder  it  was,  and  has  so  been  decided 
by  the  highest  tribunal  of  the  country.  Wirz,  as  he  pro 
mised  before  his  death,  is  already  haunting  them  by  day 
and  night.  No  Loyal  Leagues  and  Grand  Armies  of  the 
Republic  can  protect  them  against  that  terrible  spectre. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.         311 

The  remains  of  the  man  who  spurned  life  at  the  cost  of 
becoming  a  traitor  or  suborned  witness  against  his  former 
compatriots  lie  still  side  by  side  with  those  of  poor  Mrs. 
Surratt,  buried  in  one  of  the  warehouses  of  the  arsenal  in 
this  city,  and  still  denied  the  right  of  Christian  burial. 
Nobody  any  longer  doubts  that  they  have  been  murdered. 
The  Supreme  Court  has  declared  those  commissions  by 
which  they  were  convicted  to  be  unconstitutional.  Yet 
their  orphan  children  are  not  even  permitted  to  weep  at 
their  graves  !  How  savage  this  nation  has  become ! 

Can  it  be  true  that  the  star-spangled  banner  still  waves 
"  over  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave." 
Respectfully, 

LOUIS  SCHADE. 


312  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRTSON.TABLE. 

Formation  of  the  Southern  Confederacy 
and  State  Governments, 

1>  ith  dates  of  their  admission  to,  and  withdrawal  from, 
the  Confederation  of  the,  United  /States. 


FORMATION   OF   THE   SOUTHERN  CON 
FEDERACY. 

• 

THE  independence  of  the  Southern  Confederate  States, 
commenced  by  the  withdrawal  of  the  State  of  South  Caro 
lina  from  the  old  Federal  Union  of  the  United  States. 
The  ordinance  of  secession  was  passed  on  December  20th, 
1860,  by  a  unanimous  vote.  The  withdrawal  of  South 
Carolina  from  the  old  Union  was  followed  successively 
by  the  States  of  Florida,  Mississippi,  Alabama,  Georgia, 
and  Louisiana.  A  convention  of  delegates  from  the  six 
seceding  States  assembled  in  Congress  at  Montgomery, 
Alabama,  to  organize  a  Provisional  Government,  on  the 
4th  day  of  February,  1861.  The  Hon.  R.  M.  Barnwell, 
of  South  Carolina,  was  appointed  temporary  chairman. 

A.  R.  Lamar,  esq.,  of  Georgia,  was  then  appointed 
temporary  secretary,  and  the  deputies  from  the  several 
States  represented,  presented  their  credentials  in  alpha 
betical  order,  and  signed  their  names  to  the  roll  of  the 
convention. 

The  following  is  the  list : 

Alabama.— R.  W.  Walker,  R.  H,  Smith,  J.  L.  M. 
Curry,  W.  P.  Chilton,  S.  F.  Hale  Colon,  J.  McRae,  John 
Gill  Shorter,  David  P.  Lewis,  Thomas  Fearn. 

Georgia* — Robert  Toornbs,  Howell  Cobb,  F.  S.  Bar- 
tow,  M.  J.  Crawford.  E.  A.  Nisbet,  B.  II.  Hill,  A.  R. 
Wright,  Thomas  R.  R.  Cobb,  A.  H.  Kenan,  A.  II. 
Stephens. 

Mississippi. — W.  P.  Harris  Walter  Brooke,  N.  S. 
Wilson,  A.  M.  Clayton,  W.  S.  Barry,  J.  T.  Harrison. 


SCEAPS  FEOM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  313 

South  Carolina. — K.  B.  Rhett,  R.  W.  Barnwell,  L. 
M.  Keitt,  James  Chesnut,  Jr.,  C.  G.  Memminger,  W. 
Porcher  Miles,  Thomas  J.  Withers,  W.  W.  Boyce. 

Florida. — James  B.  Owens,  J.  Patten  Anderson,  Jack 
son  Morton,  (not  present.) 

iMidsiana. — John  Perkins,  Jr.,  A.  Declonet,  Charles 
M.  Conrad,  D.  F.  Kenner,  G.  E.  Sparrow,  Henry  Mar 
shall. 

The  constitution  of  the  Confederate  States,  was  adopted 
on  Friday,  February  8,  1861.  On  Saturday  the  .9th, 
Congress  proceeded  to  the  election  of  a  President  and 
Vice-President.  Jefferson  Davis,  of  Mississippi,  and 
Alexander  H.  Stephens,  of  Georgia,  were  unanimously 
elected.  On  the  18th  of  the  same  month,  President 
Davis  was  inaugurated. 

The  Presidential  term  of  one  year  of  the  Provisional 
Government,  under  the  constitution,  began  on  the  18th 
day  of  February,  1861,  and  will  expire  on  the  22d  day  of 
February,  1862.  The  first  election,  under  the  Confeder 
ate  constitution,  for  President  and  Vice-President  for  the 
first  regular  Presidential  term  of  six  years,  was  held  on 
the  6th  day  of  November,  1861,  in  each  State  through 
out  the  Confedercay. 


GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  CONFEDERATE 
STATES. 

JEFFERSON  DAVIS,  of  Mississippi,  President. 

ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS,  of  Georgia,  Vice-President. 

Colonel  JOSEPH  DAVIS,  of  Mississippi,  Aid  to  the  Pres 
ident. 

Captain  R.  JOSSELYN,  of  Mississippi,  Private  Secretary 
of  the  President. 

R.  M.  T.  HUNTER,  Virginia,  Secretary  of  State  ;  Wil 
liam  M.  Browne,  Assistant  Secretary  of  State  ;  P.  P. 
Dandridge,  Chief  Clerk. 

C.  G.  "MEMMINGER,  South  Carolina,  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury;  P.  Clayton,  Georgia,  Assistant  Secretary  of 
21 


314  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

the  Treasury ;  H.  D.  Capers,  Chief  Clerk  of  the  Depart 
Hient ;  Lewis  Crnger,  South  Carolina,  Comptroller  and 
Solicitor  ;  Boiling  Baker,  Georgia,  First  Auditor  ;  W.  H. 
S.   Taylor,  Louisiana,    Second  Auditor;  Robert  Tyler, 
Virginia,  Register ;  E.  C.  Elmore,  Alabama,  Treasurer. 

J.  P.  BENJAMIN,  Louisiana,  Secretary  of  War ;  A.  T. 
Bledsoe,  Virginia,  Chief  Clerk  of  the  Department;  S. 
Cooper,  Virginia,  Adjutant  and  Inspector  General  of  the 
Confederate  States  Army;  Lieutenant-Colonel  B.  Chil- 
ton  and  Captain  J.  Withers,  South  Carolina,  Assistants 
Adjutant  and  Inspector  General;  Colonel  R.  Taylor, 
Kentucky,  Quartermaster  General ;  Colonel  A.  C.  Myers, 
South  Carolina,  Assistant  Quartermaster  General ;  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel  Northrop,  South  Carolina,  Commissary 
General;  Colonel  J.  Gorgas,  Virginia,  Chief  of  Ordnance; 
Colonel  S.  P.  Moore,  (M.  D.,)  South  Carolina,  Surgeon 
General;  Captain  C.  H.  Smith,  (M.  D.,)  Virginia,  As 
sistant  Surgeon  General;  Captain  Leg.  G.  Capers,  (M. 
D.,)  South  Carolina,  Chief  Clerk  of  the  Medical  Depart 
ment;  Major  D.  Hub  bard,  Alabama,  Commissioner  of 
Indian  Affairs. 

S.  R.  MALLORY,  Florida,  Secretary  of  the  Navy ;  Com 
modore  E.  M.  Tidball,  Virginia,  Chief  Clerk  of  the 
Department;  .Commodore  D.  N.  Ingraham,  South  Caro 
lina,  Chief  of  Ordnance,  Construction,  and  Repair; 
Captain  George  Minor,  Virginia,  Inspector  of  Ordnance ; 
Commodore  L.  Rosseau,  Louisiana,  Chief  of  Equipment, 
Recruiting  Orders,  and  Detail;  Captain  W.  A.  Spots- 
wood,  (  M.  D.,)  Virginia,  Chief  of  Medicine  and  Surgery; 
Captain  John  Debree,  Chief  of  Clothing  and  Provisions. 

Ex-Governor  BRAGG,  North  Carolina,  Attorney  Gen 
eral  ;  Wade  Keys,  Alabama,  Assistant  Attorney  General ; 
R.  R.  Rhodes,  Mississippi,  Commissioner  of  Patents;  G. 
E.  W.  Nelson,  Georgia,  Superintendent  of  Public  Print 
ing  ;  R.  M.  Smith,  Virginia,  Public  Printer. 

JOHN  H.  REAGAN,  Texas,  Postmaster  General;  H.  S. 
Offut,  Virginia,  Chief  Contract  Bureau;  B.  N.  Clements, 
Tennesse,  Chief  Appointment  Bureau;  J.  L.  Harrel, 
Alabama,  Chief  Finance  Bureau;  W.  D.  Miller,  Texas, 
Chief  Clerk  ©f  Department. 


SCRAS  FROPM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  315 

South  parolina — Settled  by  colonies  of  French,  Ger 
man  and  Irish,  in  1670;  adopted  the  Federal  Constitu 
tion  in  1780;  passed  the  ordinance  of  secession,  Decem- 
bei  20th,  1860.  Area  of  square  miles,  29,385. 

Florida — Settled  by  Spain,  1516 ;  ceded  to  Great 
Britain,  1763 ;  retaken  by  the  Spaniards,  1781 ;  ceded 
by  them  to  the  United  States  in  1819  ;  admitted  into  the 
Union,  1845;  passed  the  ordinance  of  secession,  January 
8th,  1861.  Area,  59,268. 

Mississippi — Settled  by  the  French  at  Natchez,  1716  ; 
this  State,  together  with  parts  of  Georgia,  Alabama  and 
Florida,  formed  the  Mississippi  Territory  in  1816;  was 
admitted  into  the  Union,  1817;  passed  ordinance  of 
secession  January  9th,  1861.  Area,  47,156  square  miles. 

Alabama — Admitted  into  the  Union,  1820 ;  passed 
ordinance,  January  llth,  1861.  Area,  50,722  square 
miles. 

Georgia  was  settled  by  General  Oglethorpe  in  1733  ; 
made  a  royal  colony  in  1752;  adopted  the  Federal  Con 
stitution  in  1798  ;  passed  ordinance  of  secession,  January 
19th,  1861.  Area,  58,000  square  miles. 

Louisiana — Settled  by  the  French  in  1699;  ceded  to 
Spain  in  1762 ;  purchased  by  the  Federal  Union  in  1803 ; 
admitted  as  a  State  in  1812;  passed  ordinance  of  seces 
sion  January  26th,  1861.  Area,  41,866  square  miles. 

Texas — Settled  by  the  Spaniards,  1690  ;  made  part  of 
the  Mexican  Republic,  1826  ;  war  with  Mexico  for  inde 
pendence  commenced  in  1833,  ended  in  1836,  making 
her  an  independent  State  ;  admitted  to  the  Union,  1845; 
passed  ordinance  of  secession,  February  1st,  1861.  Area, 
237,504  square  miles. 

Virginia — Settled  by  the  English  in  1607;  adopted 
the  Constitution,  1776 ;  passed  ordinance  of  secession, 
April  18th,  1861.  Area,  61,352  square  miles. 

Tennessee — Settled,  1757;  territory  ceded  to  the 
United  States,  1790  ;  admitted  as  a  State,  1796  ;  passed 
ordinance  of  secession,  May  2d,  1861.  Area,  45,600 
square  miles. 

Arkansas  was  part  of  the  Louisiana  purchase,  made  iu- 
to  a  separate  territory,  1819  ;  admitted  as  a  State,  1836  ; 


316  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISOJ?  TABLE. 

passed  ordinance  of  secession,  May  6th,  186^.  Area, 
52,198  square  miles. 

North  Carolina. — Settled  by  emigrants  from  Virginia 
in  1660 ;  was  divided  into  two  territories,  1720,  (North 
and  South  Carolina;)  adopted  the  Constitution^  1790; 
passed  ordinance  of  secession  may  21st,  1861.  Area. 
50,704  square  miles. 

Missouri — Settled  by  the  French  in  1764;  territorial 
government  formed  in  1804;  admitted  to  the  Union, 
1821 ;  passed  ordinance  of  secession,  October  28,  1861. 
Area,  64,000  square  miles. 

The  entire  white  population  of  the  Confederate  State 
in  1860,  was  6,867,239.  Colored,  3,644,676.  Total, 
10,510,915. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 


317 


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318  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISOK  TABLE. 


ORGANIZATION    OF    THE    CONFEDERATE 
STATES  ARMY,  NOVEMBER,  1861. 


THE  army  of  the  Potomac  is  under  the  supreme  com 
mand  of  General  J.  E.  Johnston.  It  embraces  three 
grand  divisions  :  the  largest  and  most  important,  at  Man- 
nassas,  being  commanded  by  General  P.  T.  G.  Beauregard, 
and  those  at  Aquia  Creek  and  Shenandoah  Valley,  by 
Brigadiers-General  T.  H.  Holmes,  of  North  Carolina,  and 
Thomas  J.  Jackson,  of  Stone  Wall  Bridge,  respectively. 
General  Beauregard's  command  is  subdivided  into  four 
divisions,  commanded  respectively  by  General  Gustavus 
W.  Smith,  Major-General  Edmund  Kirby  Smith,  Earl 
Van  Dorn,  and  James  Longstreet.  Under  these  officers 
are  the  numerous  brigades  composing  the  army,  each 
composed  as  nearly  as  possible  of  regiments  belonging  to 
the  same  State,  and  commanded  by  their  own  Brigadiers 
General.  The  Department  of  the  Northwest  remains 
under  command  of  General  Lee ;  that  of  the  Yorktown 
Peninsula,  under  Major-General  Magruder ;  that  of  Nor 
folk,  under  Major-General  Huger ;  that  of  Eastern  Vir 
ginia,  South  of  the  James  river,  under  Brigadier-General 
Pemberton ;  and  that  of  Richmond,  under  Brigadier- 
General  Winder.  The  coast  defences  of  North  Carolina 
are  under  command  of  Brigadier-General  Gatlin,  assisted 
by  Brigadiers-General  J.  R.  Anderson  and  D.  H.  Hill. 
Those  of  South  Carolina  are  in  charge  of  Brigadier-Gen 
eral  Ripley  :  those  of  Georgia,  of  Brigadier-General  Law- 
ton  ;  those  of  Alabama,  of  Brigadier-General  Withers ; 
those  of  Louisiana,  of  Major-General  Lovell ;  and  those 
of  Texas,  of  Brigadier-General  Hebert.  Until  his  death, 
Brigadier-General  Grayson  commanded  in  East  Florida. 
The  supreme  command  in  Kentucky,  is  vested  in  Gene 
ral  A.  S.  Johnston  ;  and  in  Tennessee,  in  Major-General 
Polk. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

AEMY  WAGES. 


319 


The  following  is  a  statemen  of  the  monthly  pay  of 
officers  and  privates  in  the  service  of  the  Confederate 
States : 


RANK. 

Infantry. 

Cavalry. 

Artillery. 

Colonels 

$180  00 

$210  00 

$210  00 

Lieutenant-Colonels  

180  00 

185  00 

185  00 

150  00 

162  00 

152  00 

Captains  

130  00 

140  00 

130  00 

First  Lieutenants    

90  00 

100  00 

90  00 

Second  Lieutenants  

80  00 

90  00 

80  00 

Orderly  Sersreants 

20  00 

20  00 

20  00 

Other  Sergeants 

17  00 

17  00 

17  00 

Corporals  and  Artificess   

13  00 

13  00 

13  00 

12  00 

12  00 

12  00 

Privates 

11  00 

11  00 

11  00 

The  monthly  pay  of  Generals  of  divisions,  or  brigades, 
is  $301.  Privates  and  non-commissioned  officers  receive 
one  ration  a  day,  and  a  yearly  allowance  for  clothing : 
commissioned  officers  are  not  allowed  to  draw  rations. 


320  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 


INHUMAN  TREATMENT 

OF 

CONFEDERATE  PRISONERS. 


MR.  Bicking,  a  prominent  citizen  of  Bristol,  Pa-,  known 
to  hundreds  of  citizens  of  Pennsylvania  as  a  gentleman 
of  integrity  and  reliability,  says :  "  I  was  standing  at  the 
depot  at  Bethlehem,  Pa.,  on  the  arrival  of  a  train  of  cars, 
with  four  hundred  rebel  prisoners  aboard,  en  route  for  one 
of  our  military  prisons.  They  had  eaten  nothing  since 
leaving  Pittsburg,  (forty-eight  hours,)  and  were  well  nigh 
starved.  The  better  class  of  citizens,  irrespective  of  party, 
of  Bethlehem,  gave  them  food,  which  they  ravenously 
devoured.  The  treatment  of  these  prisoners  was  a  dis 
grace  to  the  country,  as  there  was  no  excuse  for  the  out 
rage,  which  it  most  certainly  was,  of  starving  human  be 
ings  in  a  country  filled  with  provisions." 

This  is  but  one  of  the  thousand  instances,  that  can  be 
proven  from  individual  and  official  sources,  proving  the 
outrageous  manner  in  which  prisoners  were  treated,  while 
at  the  same  time,  a  volume  of  evidence  can  be  furnished 
that  the  Confederate  authorities  were  kind  and  humane 
in  their  management  of  prisoners.  I  merely  give 
one  instance  of  thousands  that  could  be  cited,  to  prove 
this  statement.  By  referring  to  chapter  8,  page  107,  of 
the  history  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Fourth  Pennsylvania 
Regiment,  at  that  time  commanded  by  Colonel  W.  W, 
H.  Davis,  the  following  paragraph  appears  :  "  That  night 
the  enemy  occupied  my  head-quarter  cabin,  which  was 
filled  with  their  own,  and  our  wounded.  Among  the  oc- 


SCfiAPS  FKOM  THE  PEISON  TABLE.  321 

cupants  was  General  Roger  A.  Pryor,  who  treated  our 
wounded  with  great  kindness,  a  box  of  nice  wines  and 
brandy  was  found  in  the  cabin,  some  of  which,  he  gave 
to  each  wounded  soldier.  All  the  concurrent  testimony 
proves  that  the  enemy  were  kind  to  our  wounded,  that 
fell  into  their  hands."  And  ever  were,  in  spite  of  the 
brutalities  to  which  their  families  were  subjected,  by  the 
many  marauding  bands  of  the  enemy.  One  instance 
cited,  often  thousand  such,  is  related  by  Colonel  Davis, 
chapter  16,  page  210,  of  the  same  work:  "On  the  first 
of  June,  1863,  Colonel  Montgomery,  with  his  negro 
regiment,  made  a  raid  up  the  Cumbahee  river,  to  get 
recruits.  He  brought  back  eight  hundred  darkies,  who  ap 
peared  to  be  much  better  fitted  to  hoe  cotton,  than  to 
carry  a  musket.  There  may  be  a  difference  between 
stealing  negroes  from  their  homes,  on  the  Congo,  in 
Africa,  and  stealing  them  from  the  Cumbahee,  in  South 
Carolina,  but,  many  people,  are  not  able  to  see  the  dif 
ference.  Colonel  Montgomery  in  this  raid  burned  thirty- 
four  private  dwellings,  without  a  shadow  of  excuse,  the 
families,  mostly  women  and  children,  were  summari 
ly  turned  out  of  doors,  and  their  homes  destroyed  before 
their  eyes.  Colonel  Montgomery  told  the  negroes  '  that 
the  country  would  belong  to  them  after  the  war,  and  as 
they  would  have  no  use  tor  the  large  houses,  they  "might 
burn  them. '  The  operation  was  a  disgrace  to  our  arms. 
How  often  they  were  disgraced  during  the  war  by  men 
higher  in  rank  than  Colonel  Montgomery,  and  the,  acts 
applauded,  instead  of  being  censured,  and  t/ie  guilty 
officer  dismissed  the  service."  No  one  will  question  the 
statement  of  General  W.  W.  H.  Davis,  that  distinguished 
soldier  of  Pennsylvania,  whose  honesty,  integrity,  and 
military  record,  is  a  part  of  the  history  of  the  country, 
and  yet,  Confederates  treated  their  prisoners  well,  in  spite 
of  the  desolating  fiends,  who  were  murdering,  robbing 
and  burning  throughout  the  South. 


322        SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TiA-BLE. 


J.  P.  Benjamin's  and  Robt.  Quid's  Letters. 


UNANSWERABLE  ARGUMENTS. 


THE    RESPONSIBILITY    OF   ANDERSONVILLE 
PtESTS  WITH  THE  ABOLITIONISTS. 


His  Views  of  the  Treatment  of  federal  Prisoners. 


To  THE  TDITOR  OF  THE  TIMES: 

SIR:  I  find  on  arriving  in  England,  that  public  atten 
tion  is  directed  afresh  to  the  accusation  made  by  the 
Federal  authorities  that  prisoners  of  war  were  cruelly 
treated  by  the  Confederates — not  merely  in  exceptional 
cases  by  subordinate  officials — but  systematically,  and  in 
conformity  with  a  policy  deliberately  adopted  by  Presi 
dent  Davis,  General  Lee  and  Mr.  Seddon.  As  a  member 
of  the  Cabinet  of  President  Davis  from  the  date  of  his 
first  inauguration  under  the  Provisional  Constitution  to 
the  final  overthrow  of  the  Confederate  Government 
by  force  of  arms,  as  a  personal  friend,  whose  relations 
with  Jefferson  Davis  have^  been  of  the  most  intimate  and 
confidential  nature,  I  feel  it  imperatively  to  be  my  duty 
to  request  your  insertion  of  this  letter  in  vindication  of 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        323 

honorable  men,  who,  less  fortunate  than  myself,  are  now 
held  in  close  confinement  by  their  enemies,  and  are 
unable  to  utter  an  indignant  word  in  self-defense. 

A  very  material  fact  in  relation  to  this  charge  of 
cruelty  was  omitted  in  the  recent  letter  from  your  late 
"Richmond  correspondent,"  who  was  probably  not 
aware  of  it,  but  which  I  can  attest  from  personal  knowl 
edge.  During  the  difficulties  which  prevented  the 
exchange  of  prisoners  of  war,  cases  arose  which  appealed 
so  strongly  to  humanity  that  it  was  impossible  for  the 
most  obdurate  to  remain  insensible.  The  Federal  au 
thorities,  therefore,  empowered  Colonel  Mulford,  their 
Commissioner  of  Exchange,  to  consent  to  mutual  delivery 
of  such  sick  and  disabled  prisoners  as  were  incapable  of 
of  performing  military  service.  To  this  class  was  the 
exchange  of  prisoners  rigorously  restricted.  Colonel 
Ould,  the  Confederate  Commissioner  of  Exchange,  (who 
has  recently  been  honorably  acquitted,  by  the  Federals 
themselves,  of  the  same  false  charge  of  cruelty  to  prison 
ers,)  made  to  the  President,  to  the  Secretary  of  War, 
aud  to  myself,  repeated  complaints  that  prisoners  on 
both  sides  were  frequently  delivered  in  a  condition  so 
prostrate,  as  to  render  death  certain,  from  exposure 
during  the  transit  between  James  river  and  Washington, 
or  Annapolis.  Efforts  were  made,  in  vain,  to  check  this 
evil.  In  spite  of  surgeon's  certificates,  that  they  were 
too  ill  for  removal  without  imminent  danger;  sick  men 
on  both  sides,  wearied  by  long  confinement,  fearful  that 
the  exchange  would  be  again  interrupted,  longing  for  the 
sight  of  home  and  friends,  would  either  insist  on  their 
ability  to  endure  the  journey,  or,  professing  that  recovery 
was  hopeless,  would  piteously  implore  to  be  allowed  to 
see  their  families  before  death.  The  lifeless  bodies  of 
numbers  of  Confederates,  shipped  from  the  North  under 
these  circumstances,  were  delivered  to  us  at  City  Point, 
and  the  like  result  attended  the  delivery  from  our  side. 
Rigid  care  was  taken  by  the  authorities  of  the  United 
States  to  exclude  from  the  exchange,  all  cases  of  slight 
illness,  in  accordance  with  their  avowed  policy  of  pre 
venting  our  armies  from  being  recruited  by  returned 


324        SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

prisoners,  this  being  our  only  resource  for  filling  our 
thinned  ranks,  while  they  were  able  to  procure  unlimited 
recruits  from  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  From  the  class 
just  mentioned  the  most  emaciated  specimens  were 
chosen  by  our  enemies,  and  exhibited  as  conclusive 
evidence  that  we  exercised  habitual  cruelty  towards 
prisoners  of  war.  The  most  wretched  and  desperate 
cases  were  even  made  the  originals  for  "photographs 
which  cannot  lie,"  and  the  revolting  pictures  of  human 
infirmity,  thus  procured,  were  affixed  as  embellishments 
to  sensational  reports,  manipulated  by  Congressional 
committees  and  sanitary  commissions. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  examine  in  detail  the  question 
whether  on  us  or  on  the  Federals  rests  the  responsibility 
of  interrupting  the  exchange  of  prisoners,  and  thus  pro 
ducing  a  mass  of  human  misery  and  anguish  of  which  few 
examples  can  be  found  in  history.  The  published  cor 
respondence  of  the  Commissioners  of  Exchange  and 
certain  revelations  made  by  Federal  officials  in  public 
speeches  and  in  newspaper  articles,  will  be  sufficient  to 
satisfy  on  this  point  the  few  who  take  the  pains  to 
ascertain  the  truth;  but  in  response  to  the  allegations 
imputed,  in  the  latest  news  from  America,  to  General 
Hitchcock,  that  "for  the  delays  in  exchanging  and  the 
consequent  sufferings  of  the  prisoners,  the  fault  rested 
entirely  with  the  Confederates,"  I  would  recall  the  fol 
lowing  facts  : 

The  first  effort  to  establish  a  cartel  of  exchange  was 
made  by  the  Confederates,  when  I  was  temporarily  in 
charge  of  the  war  office  at  Richmond,  toward  the  close  of 
the  Provisional  Government.  General  Howell  Cobb,  on 
our  part,  and  General  Wool,  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States,  agreed  on  a  cartel,  which  was  submitted  to  their 
respective  governments  for  approval.  In  my  instructions 
to  General  Cobb,  he  was  specially  directed  to  propose 
that,  after  exhausting  exchanges,  the  party  having  surplus 
prisoners  iu  possession,  should  allow  them  to  go  home  on 
parole,  till  the  other  belligerent  should  succeed  in  captur 
ing  an  equivalent  number  for  exchange.  When  this  pro 
posal  was  made  by  us,  we  held  a  large  number  of  prisoners 


SCRAPS  FEOM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        325 

more  than  were  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  It  was  ac 
cepted  by  General  Wool  as  one  of  the  terms  of  the  cartel, 
but,  unfortunately,  some  successes  of  our  enemies  inter 
vened  before  ratification  by  their  government.  They 
obtained,  in  their  turn,  an  excess  of  prisoners,  and  at  once 
refused  to  ratify  the  cartel.  In  the  ensuing  year,  while 
General  Randolph  was  Secretary  of  War,  the  Confeder 
ates  were  a  second  time  in  possession  of  an  excess  of 
prisoners,  and  succeeded  in  negotiating  a  cartel,  under 
which  they  liberated  many  thousands  of  prisoners  on 
parole,  without  any  present  equivalent,  thus  securing  in 
advance  the  liberation  of  a  like  number  of  their  own 
soldiers  that  might  afterward  fall  into  the  enemy's  hands. 
This  cartel  remained  many  months  in  operation.  No 
check  or  difficulty  occurred,  as  long  as  we  made  a  majority 
of  captures. 

In  July,  1863,  the  fortune  of  war  became  very  adverse 
to  the  Confederacy.  The  battle  of  Gettysburg  checked 
the  advance  of  General  Lee  on  the  Federal  capital,  while 
almost  simultaneously  the  fall  of  Vicksburg  and  Port 
Hudson  gave  to  our  enemies  a  large  preponderance  in  the 
number  of  prisoners.  The  authorities  at  Washington 
immediately  issued  general  orders,  refusing  to  receive 
from  General  Lee  the  prisoners  held  by  him,  until  they 
should  be  reduced  to  possession  in  Virginia,  thus  subject 
ing  their  own  men  to  the  terrible  sufferings  glanced  at  by 
Colonel  Fremantle,  in  order  to  embarrass  General  Lee's 
movements.  They  further  refused  to  restore  to  us  the 
excess  of  prisoners  held  by  them,  after  having  received, 
for  nearly  or  quite  a  year,  the  benefit  of  the  special  pro 
vision  of  the  cartel,  when  it  operated  in  their  favor  ;  and 
during  the  entire  war,  they  never  once  consented  to  a 
delivery  to  us  of  any  prisoners,  in  excess  of  the  number 
for  which  we  were  prepared  to  return  an  immediate 
equivalent. 

It  requires  no  sagacity  to  perceive,  that  every  motive 
of  interest,  as  well  as  of  humanity,  operated  to  induce  us 
to  facilitate  the  exchange  of  prisoners,  and  to  submit  even 
to  unjust  and  unequal  terms,  in  order  to  recover  soldiers, 
whom  we  could  replace  from  no  other  source.  On  the 


326  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

other  hand,  interest  and  humanity  were  at  war  in  their 
influence  on  the  Federal  officials.  Others  must  judge  of 
the  humanity  and  justice  of  the  policy,  which  consigned 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  wretched  men  to  captivity,  ap 
parently  hopeless,  but  I  can  testify  unhesitatingly  to  its 
sagacity  and  efficiency,  and  to  the  pitiless  sternness  with 
which  it  was  executed.  Indeed,  this  refusal  of  exchange 
was  one  of  the  most  fatal  blows  dealt  us  during  the  war, 
and  contributed  to  our  overthrow  more,  perhaps,  than 
any  other  single  measure.  I  write  not  to  make  complaint 
of  it,  but  simply  to  protest  against  the  attempt  of  the 
Federals  to  divide  the  consequences  of  their  own  conduct, 
as  to  throw  on  us  the  odium  attached  to  a  cruelty  plainly 
injurious  to  us,  obviously  beneficial  to  themselves. 

The  sense  of  duty  which  prompts  this  letter,  would  be 
but  imperfectly  satisfied  were  I  to  withold  at  this  juncture 
the  testimony  which  none  so  well  as  myself  can  offer  in  re 
lation  to  the  charge  of  inhumanity  made  against  Jefferson 
Davis.  For  the  four  years,  during  which  I  have  been  one 
of  his  most  trusted  advisers,  the  recipient  of  his  confi 
dence,  the  sharer,  to  the  best  of  my  abilities,  in  his  labors 
and  responsibilities,  I  have  learned  to  know  him  better, 
perhaps,  than  he  is  known  by  any  other  living  man. 
Neither  in  private  conversation,  nor  in  cabinet  council, 
have  I  ever  heard  him  utter  one  unworthy  thought,  one 
ungenerous  sentiment.  On  repeated  occasions,  when  the 
savage  atrocities  of  such  men  as  Butler,  Turchin,  Mc- 
Neill  and  others,  were  the  subject  of  anxious  considera 
tion,  and  when  it  was  urged  upon  Jefferson  Davis,  not 
only  by  friends  in  private  letters,  but  by  members  of  liis 
Cabinet  in  council,  that  it  was  his  duty  to  the  peo 
ple,  and  to  the  army,  to  endeavor  to  repress  such  out 
rages  by  retaliation,  he  was  immovable  in  his  insistence  to 
such  counsels,  insisting  that  it  was  repugnant  to  every 
sentiment  of  justice  and  humanity,  that  the  innocent 
should  be  made  victims  for  the  crimes  of  such  mon 
sters.  Without  betraying  the  confidence  of  official  in 
tercourse,  it  may  be  permitted  me  to  say,  that  when  the 
notorious  expedition  of  Dahlgren,  against  the  city  of 
Richmond  had  been  defeated,  and  the  leader  killed  in  his 


SCKAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE        327 

flight,  the  papers  found  upon  his  body  showed  that  he  had 
been  engaged  in  an  attempt  to  assassinate  the  President 
and  the  heads  of  the  Cabinet,  to  release  the  Federal 
prisoners  confined  in  Richmond,  to  set  fire  to  the  city, 
and  to  loose  his  men  and  the  released  prisoners,  with  full 
license  to  gratify  their  passions  on  the  helpless  inhabitants. 

The  instructions  to  his  men  had  been  elaborately  pre 
pared,  and  his  designs  communicated  to  them  in  an  ad 
dress  ;  the  incendiary  materials  for  firing  the  town  formed 
part  of  his  equipment.  The  proof  was  clear  and  undeni 
able.  In  the  action,  in  which  Dahlgren  fell,  some  of  his 
men  were  taken  prisoners.  They  were  brought  to  Rich 
mond,  and  public  opinion  was  unanimous,  that  they  were 
not  entitled  to  be  considered  as  prisoners  of  war ;  that 
they  ought  to  be  put  to  trial  as  brigands  and  assassins, 
and  executed  as  such  if  found  guilty.  In  cabinet  council 
the  conviction  was  expressed,  that  these  men  had  acquired 
no  immunity  from  punishment  for  their  crimes,  if  guilty, 
by  the  fact  of  their  having  been  admitted  to  surrender  by 
their  captors,  before  knowledge  of  their  offenses.  A  dis 
cussion  ensued,  which  became  so  heated  as  almost  to  create 
unfriendly  feeling,  by  reason  of  the  unshaken  firmness  of 
Mr.  Davis,  in  maintaining  that  although  these  men  merited 
a  refusal  to  grant  them  quarter  in  the  heat  of  battle,  they 
had  been  received  to  mercy  by  their  captors  as  prisoners 
of  war,  and  such  were  sacred ;  and  that  we  should  be  dis 
honored  if  harm  should  overtake  them  after  their  sur 
render,  the  acceptance  of  which  constituted,  in  his  judg 
ment,  a  pledge  that  they  should  receive  the  treatment  of 
prisoners  of  war.  To  Jefferson  Davis  alone,  and  to  his 
constancy  of  purpose,  did  these  men  owe  their  safety,  in 
spite  of  hostile  public  opinion,  and  in  opposition  to  two- 
thirds  of  the  cabinet. 

I  forbear  from  further  trespass  on  your  space,  although 
I  am  in  possession  of  numerous  other  facts,  bearing  on 
the  subject,  that  could  not  fail  to  interest  all  who  are  de 
sirous  of  seeing  justice  done  to  the  illustrious  man,  of 
whose  present  condition  I  will  not  trust  myself  to  speak. 
I  remain,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

J.  P.  BENJAMIN. 


328  SCRAPS  FllOM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

ANDERSONVILLE. 

ROBERT  OULD'S  LETTERS. 

"  On  the  16th  of  August,  1864,  I  addressed  the  follow 
ing  communication  to  Brigadier-General  JohnE.  Mulford, 
(then  major,)  Assistant  Agent  of  Exchange  : 

'"RICHMOND,  August  10,  1864. 

" 'MAJOR  JOHN  E.  MULFORD,  ASSISTANT  AGENT  OF  EX 
CHANGE: 

"'SiR:  You  have  several  times  proposed  to  me  to  ex 
change  the  prisoners,  respectively  held  by  the  two  bel 
ligerents — officer  for  officer,  and  man  for  man.  The 
same  offer  has  also  been  made  by  other  officials  having 
charge  of  matters  connected  with  the  exchange  of  pris 
oners. 

" '  This  proposal  has  heretofore  been  declined  -  by  the 
Confederate  authorities,  they  insisting  upon  the  terms  of 
the  cartel,  which  required  the  delivery  of  the  excess  on 
either  side  on  parole.  In  view,  however,  of  the  very 
large  number  of  prisoners  now  held  by  each  party,  and 
the  suffering  consequent  upon  their  continued  confine 
ment,  I  now  consent  to  the  above  proposal,  and  agree  to 
deliver  to  you  the  prisoners  held  in  captivity  by  the  Con 
federate  authorities,  provided  you  agree  to  deliver  an 
equal  number  of  Confederate  officers  and  men.  As  equal 
numbers  are  delivered  from  time  to  time,  they  will  be 
declared  exchanged.  This  proposal  is  made  with  the 
understanding  that  the  officers  and  men,  on  both  sides, 
who  have  been  longest  in  captivity  will  be  first  delivered 
where  it  is  practicable. 

"'I  shall  be  happy  to  hear  from  you  as  speedy  as  pos 
sible,  whether  this  arrangement  can  be  carried  out. 
"  'Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"'RO.  OULD, 
"'AGENT  OF  EXCHANGE." 

"The  delivery  of  this  letter  was  accompanied  with  a 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  329 

statement  of  the  mortality  which  was  hurrying  so  many 
Federal  prisoners,  at  Anderson ville,  to. the  grave, 

"On  the  22d  day  of  August,  1864,  not  having  heard 
anything  in  response,  I  addressed  a  communication  to 
Major-General  E.  A.  Hitchcock,  United  States  Com 
missioner  of  Exchange,  covering  a  copy  of  the  foregoing 
letter  to  General  Mulford,  and  requesting  an  acceptance 
of  my  propositions. 

"No  answer  was  ever  received  to  either  of  these 
letters.  General  Mulford,  on  the  31st  of  August,  1864, 
informed  me  in  writing,  that  he  had  no  communication 
on  the  subject  from  the  United  States  authorities,  and 
that  he  was  not,  at  that  time,  authorized  to  make  an 
answer. 

"This  offer,  which  would  have  instantly  restored  to 
freedom  thousands  of  suffering  captives,  which  would 
have  released  every  Federal  soldier  in  continernent  in 
Confederate  prisons,  was  not  even  noticed.  As  the 
Federal  authorities,  at  that  time,  had  a  large  excess  of 
prisoners, .the  effect  of  the  proposal  which  Iliad  made, 
if  carried  out,  would  have  been  to  release  all  Union 
prisoners,  while  a  large  number  of  the  Confederates 
would  have  remained  in  prison,  awaiting  the  chances  of 
the  capture  of  their  equivalents. 

This  is  startling  enough,  but  what  will  the  Christian 
w6rld  think  of  what  follows  ?  On  the  24th  of  January,. 
1864,  Mr.  Ould  wrote  to  General  Hitchcock,  the  Fed 
eral  Agent  of  Exchange: 

"In  view  of  the  present  difficulties  attending  the  ex 
change  and  release  of  prisoners,  I  propose  that  all  such 
on  each  side  shall  be  attended  by  a  proper  number  of 
their  own  surgeons,  who,  under  rules  to  be  established, 
shall  be  permitted  to  take  charge  of  their  health  and 
comfort.  . 

"  I  also  propose  that  these  surgeons  shall  act  as  com 
missaries,  with  power  to  receive  and  distribute  such  con 
tributions  of  money,  food,  clothing  and  medicines,  as 
may  be  forwarded,  for  the  relief  of  prisoners.  I  further 
propose  that  these  surgeons  be  selected  by  their  own 
.governments,  and  that  they  shall  have  full  liberty  at  any 
22 


330  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

and  all  times,  through  the  agents  of  exchange,  to  make 
reports,  not  only  of  their  own  acts,  but  of  any  matters 
relating  to  the  welfare  of  prisoners." 

The  writer  adds: 

"  To  this  communication  no  reply  of  any  kind  was 
ever  made.  I  need  not  state  how  much  suffering  would 
have  been  prevented,  if  this  offer  had.  been  met  in  the 
spirit  in  which  it  was  dictated.  In  addition,  the  world 
have  had  truthful  accounts  of  the  treatment  of  prisoners 
on  both  sides,  by  officers  of  character,  and  thus  much  of 
that  misrepresentation  which  has  flooded  the  country, 
would  never  have  been  poured  forth.  It  will  be  borne 
in  mind  that  nearly  all  of  the  suffering  endured  by 
Federal  prisoners,  happened  after  January,  1864.  The 
acceptance  of  the  proposition  made  by  me,  on  behalf  of 
the  Confederate  government,  would  not  only  have  fur 
nished  to  the  sick,  medicines  and  physicians,  but  to  the 
well  an  abundance  of  food  and  clothing,  from  the  ample 
stores  of  the  United  States. 

The  statements  go  on  increasing  in  interest.  .  Witness 
the  next : 

"  When  it  was  ascertained  that  exchanges  could  not  be 
made  either  on  the  basis  of  the  cartel,  or  officer  for  officer 
and  man  for  man,  I  was  instructed  by  the  Confederate 
authorities  to  offer  to  the  United  States  government  their 
sick  and  wounded,  without  requiring  any  equivalents. 
Accordingly,  in  the  summer  of  1864,1  did  offer  to  deliver 
from  ten  to  fifteen  thousand  of  the  sick  and  wounded,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Savannah  river,  without  requiring  any 
equivalents,  assuring  at  the  same  time  the  agent  of  the 
United  States,  General  Mulford,  that  if  the  num 
ber  for  which  he  might  send  transports  could  not  readily 
be  made  up  from  sick  and  wounded,  I  would  supply  the 
difference  with  well  men.  Although  this  offer  was  made 
in  the  summer  of  1864,  transportation  was  not  sent  to  the 
Savannah  river  until  about  the  middle  or  last  of  Novem 
ber,  and  then  I  delivered  as  many  prisoners  as  could  be 
'transported — some  thirteen  thousand  in  number,  amongst 
whom  were  more  than  five  thousand  well  men. 

More  than  once  I  urged  the  mortality  at  Andersonville 


SCKAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  331 

as  a  reason  for  haste  on  the  part  of  the  United  States 
authorities.  I  know,  personally,  that  it  was  the  purpose 
of  the  Confederate  government  to  send  off  from  all  its 
prisons,  all  the  sick  and  wounded,  and  to  continue  to  do 
the  same,  from  time  to  time,  without  requiring  any 
equivalents  for  them.  It  was'  because  the  sick  and 
wounded,  at  points  distant  from  Georgia,  could  not  be 
brought  to  Savannah  within  a  reasonable  time,  that  the 
five  thousand  well  men  were  substituted." 

Again,  Mr.  Ould  says,  and  appeals  to  General  Mulford 
and  other  Federal  officers,  to  support  what  he  says : 

"In  the  summer  of  1864,  in  consequence  of  certain 
information  communicated  to  me,  by  the  Surgeon  Gen 
eral  of  the  Confederate  States,  as  to  the  deficiency  of 
medicines,  I  offered  to  make  purchases  of  medicines  from 
the  United  States  authorities,  to  be  used  exclusively  for 
the  relief  of  Federal  prisoners.  I  offered  to  pay  gold, 
cotton  or  tobacco  for  them,  and  even  two  or  three  prices 
if  required.  At  the  same  time  I  gave  assurances  that 
the  medicines  would  be  used  exclusively  in  the  treatment 
of  Federal  prisoners,  and  moreover  agreed,  on  behalf  of 
the  Confederate  States,  if  it  was  insisted  on,  that  such 
medicines  might  be  brought  into  the  Confederate  lines 
by  the  United  States  surgeons,  and  dispensed  by  them. 
To  this  offer  I  never  received  any  reply.  Incredible  as 
this  appears,  it  is  strictly  true. 

"  General  John  E.  Mulford  is  personally  cognizant  of 
the  twth  of  most,  if  not  all  the  facts  which'  I  have  nar 
rated.  He  was  connected  with  the  cartel  from  its  data 
until  the  close  of  the  war.  During  a  portion  of  the  time 
he  was  Assistant  Agent  of  Exchange  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States.  I  always  found  him  to  be  an  honorable 
and  truthful  gentleman.  While  he  discharged  his  duties 
with  great  fidelity  to  his  own  government,  he  was  kind, 
and  I  might  almost  say,  tender  to  confederate  prisoners. 
With  that  portion  of  the  correspondence  with  which  his 
name  is  connected,  he  is  familiar.  He  is  equally  so  with 
the  delivery  made  at  Savannah,  and  its  attending  circum 
stances,  and  with  the  offer  I  made  as  to  the  purchase  of 


332  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

medicines  for  the  Federal  sick  and  wounded.     I  appeal 
to  him  for  the  truth  of  what  I  have  written." 

We  now  come  to  a  matter  which  not  only  has  a  touch 
ing  hut  a  local  interest.  On  the  shelves  of  all  the  public 
and  many  of  the  private  libraries  of  Philadelphia,  will  be 
found  a  volume  got  up  during  the  fiercest  excitement  of 
the  war,  and  under  the  auspices,  strange  to  say,  of  the 
Sanitary  Commission,  whose  business  one  would  think 
was  to  heal,  not  to  stimulate,  asperities,  descriptive  of 
the  crnelities  inflicted  on  our  prisoners.  It  was  issued 
'under  the  immediate  approval  of  the  Honorable  J.  Clark 
Hare — now  Radical  candidate  for  the  District  Court — 
Doctor  Ellerslie  Wallace,  and  other  eminent  lawyers,  and 
was  adorned  with  a  frightful  photograph  of  emaciated 
and  dying  Northern  prisoners  landed  at  Annapolis. 
Judge  Ould  gives  the  secret  history  of  this  infamous 
imposture: 

"On  two  occasions,  at  least,  we  were  asked  to  send 
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were  searched  for  the  Avorst  cases,  and  after  they  were 
delivered  they  were  taken  to  Annapolis,  and  there  photo 
graphed  as»specimen  prisoners." 


ROSTER 


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SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        369 


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SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  371 


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SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  373 


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SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  387 


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SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        389 


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SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  391 


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3'34  SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 


CASUALTIES   AND   CHANGES 

AMONG 

Commissoned  Officers  after  Exchange, 

AND  RESIDENCE  AND   OCCUPATION  OF  THOSE  LIVING,  SO  FAU 
AS  KNOWN. 


Alpheus  Baker,  Brigadier-General,  Eufaula,  Ala.,  Lawyer. 

Robert  Andrews,  Captain,  Alabama,  Farmer. 

T.  M.  Atkins,  Colonel,  Allenville,  Ky.,  Farmer. 

W.  T.  Avery,  transferred  to  P.  0.  Dept.,  Memphis,  Ten  n., 
Lawyer. 

0.  N.  Avery,  killed  at  the  battle  of  the  "  Wilderness." 

T.  C.  Banks,  Williamson  co.,  Tenn  ,  Farmer. 

T.  J.  Barrett,  killed  at  the  battle  of  Franklin,  Tenn. 

Thos.  Beaumont,  Colonel,  killed  in  action  in  Georgia. 

Joel  A.  Battel,  Farmer,  Tennessee. 

H.  L.  Bedford,  Memphis,  Tennessee,  Lawyer. 

N.  J.  Benson,  Captain,  Mississippi,  Farmer. 

A.  G.  Berry,  Tennessee,  Teacher. 

J.  N.  Bolan,  Murray,  Kentucky,  Dentist. 

J.eonidas  Betts,  Mississippi,  Merchant. 

J.  W.  Bradshaw,  Captain  and  Adjutant,  Forrest's   Cavalry, 
Nashville,  Merchant. 

().  W.  Brown,  Alabama,  Lawyer. 

T.  W.  Brown,  U.  S.  Publishing  Company,  411  Broome  st.7 
New  York. 

J.  P.  Campbell,  Adjutant,  died  in  hospital  duriug  the  war. 

W.  R.  Butler,  Colonel,  Commission  Merchant,  Murfreesboro', 
Tennessee. 

J.  W.  Childress,  Jr.,  Capt,  Merchant,  Murfreesboro',  Tenn. 


SCRAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.        395 

J.  B.  Bud  well,  Warrington,  Va. 

W.  P.  Clarkson,  died  in  Texas,  in  spring  of  1863. 

B   F.  Darnell,  Way's  Bluff,  Miss.,  Farmer. 

J.  B.  B.  Flint,  Fulton,  Miss.,  Druggist. 

(jr.  W.  B.  Garrett,  Major,  Pocahontas,  Tenn.,  Merchant. 

A.  J.  Gibson,  Salem,  Miss.,  Farmer. 

D.  R.  Dickson,  Crump's  Mill,  Miss.,  Merchant. 
N.  L.  Daisy,  Captain,  Rickersvillc,  Miss.,  Farmer. 
W.  S.  Bowdry,  Baldwin,  Miss.,  Merchant. 

J.  Guerrant,  Goochland  C.  H.,  Va. 

W.  H    Hedden,  Captain,  Memphis,  Tenn.,  Merchant. 

T.  T.  Kirtland,  Memphis,  Tenn.,  Merchant. 

R.  J.  Hill,  Orizaba,  Miss.,  Merchant. 

M.  P.  Harbin,  Orizaba,  Miss  ,  Farmer. 

J.  H.  Kennedy,  Baldwin,  Miss.,  Farmer. 

G.  W.  McCranie,  Colonel,  Monroe,  Louisiana,  Editor. 

J.  F.  Wilhight,  Rockport,  Boone  co.,  Mo.,  Farmer. 

H.  W.  Salmon,  Colonel,  Clinton,  Henry  co.,  Mo. 

A.  J.  Witherspoon,  Alabama,  Minister. 

J'  S.  Thompson,  Baldwiu,  Mississippi,  Teacher. 

J.  C.  Turner   Captain,  killed  in  action,  1865. 

J.  B.  Purnell,  Crump's  Mill,  Mississippi,  Physician. 

J.  Y.  Moore,  deceased. 

A.  D.  Saddler,  Captain,  Baldwin,  Mississippi,  Miller. 

W.  S.  Rogan,  Blackland,  Mississippi,  Farmer. 

J.  H.  Riddlesperger,  Captain,  Ruckersville,  Miss.,  Farmer. 

W.  C.  Young,  Captain,  New  Albany,  Miss.,  Farmer. 

J.  A.  Warren,  Friar's  Point,  Mississippi,  Physician. 

A.  D.  Suddeth,  Captain,  Friar's  Point,  Mississippi. 

II.  H.  Robinson,  Cottonplant,  Mississippi,  Farmer. 

E.  Roberts,  left  the  service. 

E.  M.  Smith,  dropped  from  the  rolls. 

John  Shirley  Ward,  Nashville,  Tennessee,  Editor. 

T.  E.  Mallory,  Captain,  Adam's  Sta.,  Tenn.,  Merchant. 

W.  H.  Harris,  Majo/,  New  York  city,  Commission  Merchant 

H.  V.  Harrison,  Captain,  Springfield,  Tennessee,  Merchant. 

John  O'Neil,  Tennessee,  Farmer. 

F.  D.  Overton,  Nashville,  Tennessee. 

G.  M.  Parker,  Colonel,  Mobile,  Alabama,  (Woodruff  &  Par 
ker,)  Merchants. 

W.  G.  Pease,  Agent  Fielding,  Guinness  &  Co.,  New  York. 
W.  R.  Poindexter,  Tobacco  Inspector,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
J.  H.  Gray,  Richmond,  Virginia,  Lawyer. 
D.  B.  Griswold,  Captain,  Friar's  Point,  Miss.,  Merchant. 


396  SCHAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE. 

II.  H.  McClcllan.  Captain,  Charlotte,  Term.,  Merchant. 
J.  M.  Winstead,  Colonel,  Nashville,  lenn.,  Merchant. 
John  R    Wright,  killed  in  action 

A.  F.  Smith,  Clarksville,  Tennessee,  Merchant. 
J.  Tally,  Captain,  died  since  the  war. 

W.  F.  \roung,  Clarksville,  Tennessee,  Teacher. 

T.  U.  Titmarsh,  died  in  Memphis,  Tennessee,  1867. 

W.  A.  Quarles,  Brig. -Gen.,  Clarksville.  Tenn.,  Lawyer. 

R.  A.  Wilson,  Captain,  New  Providence,  Tenn  ,  Merchant. 

St.  Clair  Morgan,  killed  at  Chickamauga. 

S.  M  Thompson,  Colonel,  Alabama,  Farmer. 

J.  W.  Bryan,  Captain,  Nashville,  Tennessee,  Farmer. 

Thomas  bibson,  Captain,  Nashville,  Tennessee,  Merchant. 

R.  Seymour,  Texas. 

J.  A.  Minter,  Colonel,  Memphis,  Tennessee,  Merchant. 

R.  A.  Mitchell,  Captain,  Lynnville,  Tennessee,  Merchant 

W.  0.  Watts,  Major,  New  Orleans,  Louisiana. 

James  A.  Fisher,  Tennessee,  Farmer. 

F.  Tryon,  killed  in  action. 

J.  W.  V\  alker,  Captain,  Memphis,  Tennessee,  Merchant. 

S.  P.  Walker,  Jr.,  Captain,  Memphis,  Tenn.,  Lawyer. 

J.  Taylor,  Mississippi,  Farmer. 

H.  P.  Pointer,  Spring  Hill,  Tennessee,  Farmer. 

C.  H.  Stockdell.  Nashville,  Tennessee,  Merchant. 

B.  F.  Saunders,  assassinated  in  North  Carolina,  in  18G8. 
T.  S.  Sale,  Memphis,  Tennsssee. 

P.  K.  Stankewitz,  Nashville,  Tennessee,  Janitor  Med.  Col. 

James  Simmons,  died  in  Arkansas. 

W.  II.  Joiner,  Lieutenant-Colonel,  Tennessee,  Farmer. 

U.  S.  Lipscomb,  Captain,  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  Cotton  Broker. 

K.  W.  Harlow,  Nashville,  Tennessee,  Merchant. 

J.  R.  Hodges,  died  at  Johnson's  Island,  18G2. 

A.  J.  Hughes,  Nashville,  Tennessee,  Merchant. 

F.  H.  Lytle,  Memphis,  Tennessee,  Merchant. 
A.  J.  Laird,  Eufaula,  Alabama. 

L.  J.  Laird,  Eufaula,  Alabama. 

A.  S.  Levey,  Major,  Memphis,  Tennessee,  Merchant. 

J.  W.  Lindsey,  Nashville,  Tennessee,  Merchant. 

A.  Lindsey,  Nashville,  Tennessee,  Merchant. 

Josiah  Joplin,  Myrtle  Springs,  Bowie  county,  Texas,  Farmer. 

C.  F.  Johnson,  Colonel,  Tyler,  Johnson  &  Co.,  Louisville, 
Kentucky,  Merchants. 

G.  R.  G   Jones,  Memphis,  Tennessee,  lawyer. 

Gr.  W.  Gordon,  died  at  Vicksburg,  Miss.,  September,  1SG2 


SCEAPS  FROM  THE  PRISON  TABLE.  397 

A.  W.  Gould,  killed  in  Tennessee. 

J.  F.  Grant,  Pulaski,  Tennessee,  Physician. 

E.  F.  Freeman,  Memphis,  Tennessee,  Physician. 
Leslie  Ellis,  Nashville,  Tennessee,  Merchant. 
John  R.  Farrabe.  died  in  Mississippi,  1867. 

A.  C.  Gibson,  Major,  Clinton,  Mississippi,  Farmer. 
T.  R.  Kelsey,  killed  in  action. 

J   P.  Kirkman,  frozen  to  death,  near  Columbia,  Tennessee, 
1867. 

J.  McDaniels,  Nashville,  Tennessee,  Printer. 

R.  McCall,  Captain,  Bethesda,  Tennessee,  Merchant. 

W.  D.  McKay,  Captain,  Louisville,  Kentucky. 

R.  1)   Palmer,  Nashville,  Tennessee,  Merchant. 

A.  J.  McWhorter,  Nashville,  Tennessee,  Merchant. 

F  P.  McWhorter,  Nashville,  Tennessee,  Merchant 

J.  W.  Martin,  Captain,  Nashville,  Tennessee,  Physician. 

D.  B.  Martin,  Union  City,  Tennessee. 

F.  D.  Moore.  Humboldt,  Tennessee,  M.  &  0.  R.  11.  Officer. 
J.  W.  Morton,  Jr  ,  Captain,  Nashville,  Tennessee,  Physician. 
M.  Burke,  Nashville,  Tennessee,  Steamboat  Man. 

J-  G.  Crowder,  killed  at  Franklin,  Tennessee 


Six  years  have  elapsed  since  these  "scraps"  were 
written.  Constant  travel  since  the  wrar  and  want  of  op 
portunity  has  prevented  their  publication,  yet  the  writer 
deems  them  as  appropriate  to-day  as  then,  and  has  no 
alterations  to  make  in  them — regretting  naught. 


Ho !  for  a  Trip  'Round  the  World. 


The  following  card  of  the  agencies  of  Dr.  H.  L.  LEAF,  is  published 
as  a  complimentary  gratuity,  to  a  friend  of  the  author's  childhood. 

The  Pacific  railroad,  upon  its  completion,  will  open  to  the  South 
an  immense  trade,  uniting  her  with  the  world  in  commercial  links. 
Much  of  this  will  find  its  way  through  New  York  and  Philadelphia  ; 
and,  as  'tis  more  than  probable.  Dr.  LEAF  will  be  the  Philadelphia 
agent  of  that  railroad  line— as  he  has  been  for  so  many  years  the  com 
petent  representative  of  the  steamship  interests— it  is  well  that  the 
Southern  people  should  know  him.  There  are  but  few  men  of  our  day 
whose  lives  have  been  so  full  of  adventure,  as  that,  of  Dr.  HARLAN  L. 
LEAF— twenty-eight  trips  across  the  Isthmus,  ventures  to  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  New  Zealand  and  other  parts  of  the  world.  Testamonials  from 
communities  for  his  humane  efforts  (in  one  instance  risking  health  and 
life  to  assist  in  ameliorating  the  condition  of  his  fellow  man,  whicli 
effort  was  recognized  by  the  grateful  recipients,  and  the  gallant  LEAF 
wears  a  magnificent  watch,  as  a  testimonial  of  their  estimate  of  his 
•worth)  ;  an  Indian  fighter  during  the  Texas  struggle  ;  a  traveler  over 
Ihe  length  and  breadth  of  his  own  country,  with  a  well  stored  mind, 
the  result  of  a  thorough  classical  education,  stamps  Dr.  LEAF  as  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  our  times ;  and  it  is  to  such  a  character 
that  our  Southern,  traveling  community  should  look  for  facilities, 
when  their  objective  point  is  either  of  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe. 
Dr.  LEAF  is  a  true  man,  with  extraordinary  business  qualifications  • 
is  honest  to  the  letter  and  spirit  of  his  calling,  and  as  a  faithful 
agent  he  has  no  superior;  and,  while  a  staunch  defender  of  the  Union 
cause  during  our  late  struggle,  he  was  ever  humane  and  generous  in 
his  dealings  with  Southern  citizens ;  and  the  traveling  public  South 
can  rest  assured,  that  all  those  desirous  of  going  to  any  part  of  the 
world,  will  be  furnished  extra  facilities  by  consulting,  either  by  letter 
or  in  person,  Dr.  H.  L.  LEAF,  (at  Adams  Express  Co.,  o20  Chestnut 
street,)  or  that  old  hero  of  the  Pacific  and  Neptune  of  the  Atlantic,  the 
courtly  Captain  F.  R.  BABY,  the  New  York  agent  of  the  Pacific  Mail 
Steamship  Company,  whose  knowledge  of  his  duties  is  alone  ex 
celled  by  his  generosity.  The  author  has  crossed  the  Atlantic  on  the 
Canard,  Inman,  Collins  and  French  Trans- Atlantic  lines,  and 
deems  the  latter  the  best  that  ever  crossed  the  ocean.  GEORGE 
MACKENZIE,  the  agent  at  New  York,  is  one  of  the  most  accomplished 
gentlemen  and  best  business  managers  on  the  continent  of  America. 
But,  if  the  traveler  prefers  an  English  line,  advise  with  Messrs.  HOW- 
LAND  and  ASPINWALL,  (or  their  agent,  Dr.  LEAF,)  of  New  York,  who 
are  courteous  in  their  business  dealings,  and  represent  one  of  the 
best  English  lines— the  London  Steamship  Company.  For  a  supe 
rior  route  to  reach  the  North,  take  the  Memphis  and  Louisville  Road 
and  the  Atlantic  and  Great  Western — they  are  the  best,  because  Col. 
SAMUEL  JONES,  of  the  former,  and  Colonel  SHATTUCK,  of  the  latter,  are 
the  most  competent  railroad  managers  in  the  United  States.  If  you 
move  by  water,  take  any  boat  that  JOHN  C.  DAVIS  or  FRANK  STEIN 
commands. 


14 

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